Georgia bill would outlaw Atlanta sustainability rule

SUSTAINABILITY:
• A bill introduced in Georgia would outlaw Atlanta’s new sustainability ordinance. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Tennessee recognizes Roan Mountain State Park for sustainability efforts. (Johnson City Press)
• An activist works for environmental justice in a small Tennessee town. (Tennessee Daily Beacon)

SOLAR:
• What happens if North Carolina’s solar market takes another hit from a proposed permitting law? (WUNC Public Radio)
• Danville, Virginia moves towards a vote on a solar system that would generate power at below its average cost of wholesale power. (Danville Register & Bee)
• A coalition of parents, teachers and environmental activists calls for public schools in Charlotte to supply their electricity with solar systems. (Charlotte Observer)

EFFICIENCY: How much Asheville moderates its demand for electricity during peak demand hours could undercut Duke Energy’s plan for a new power plant there. (Mountain Xpress)

NUCLEAR:
• A federal environmental assessment illuminates how South Carolina could become a dumping ground for commercial nuclear waste from Germany. (The Augusta Chronicle)
• Duke Energy’s costs to research a new reactor approach $500 million without any indication it will pursue one. (Charlotte Business Journal)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: A bill in Georgia calling for it to join other states in a compact to oppose the Plan is shelved. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

CLIMATE: A diverse group of environmental and health advocates appeal to Virginia lawmakers to mitigate climate change. (Augusta Free Press)

COAL:
• After a harsh debate led by Republicans, West Virginia passes a bill repealing miners’ and other workers’ obligation to pay union dues. (The Washington Post)
• A $900,000 fine levied against a now bankrupt company that leaked a coal-cleansing agent into a West Virginia River likely will never be collected. (Associated Press)

COAL ASH: A Virginia bill that would have required a utility to move dried ash into landfills fails on a 7-7-1 vote. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

OFFSHORE DRILLING:
• Scrutiny of elected officials in Virginia and Carolinas and their stances on drilling grows as activists deliver 2 million petitions to the White House opposing it. (Fuel Fix)
• Environmental activists in Louisiana map a plan to protest against Gulf drilling by encircling the Superdome on March 23. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

OIL & GAS: Six government agencies and Dominion Virginia Power are scrambling to determine the scope and source of an oil sheen spotted on the Potomac River. (The Washington Post)

PIPELINES:
• There are now about 80 lawsuits in Virginia are trying to stymie survey work for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• Conservation groups in Virginia and West Virginia file a formal protest against the permitting process for the proposed WB XPress natural gas pipeline. (Augusta Free Press)

COMMENTARY:
• The Virginia General Assembly can help communities rebuild from its dependence on coal mining. (Bristol Herald Courier)
• The success thus far of a coal ash cleanup effort in South Carolina shows there’s hope after contamination. (Institute for South Studies)