Gina McCarthy on Trump’s EPA assault

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CLIMATE

• States need to work together to fight climate change and ensure clean air and water for residents as the U.S. EPA under Trump attempts to deregulate fossil fuels, says former agency administrator Gina McCarthy. (CommonWealth Beacon)

SOLAR

• Maryland lawmakers pass a package of energy bills that includes provisions for fast-tracking approvals for some community solar projects and prohibiting counties from banning solar development. (Baltimore Banner)

• In New York, a local law regulating large-scale solar developments undermines a family’s plan to build a community solar array on their formerly agricultural property. (WSKG)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Environmental and labor groups back a Rhode Island bill that would significantly expand the state’s offshore wind procurements. (ecoRI)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• New York City starts accepting applications for the installation of e-bike charging cabinets on sidewalks as part of an effort to reduce fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. (Gothamist)

TRANSPORTATION

• Congestion pricing in Manhattan will continue at least through the summer as the federal government indicates it will not seek an emergency order to stop the system while the courts decide if the federal government has the authority to shut it down for good. (Streetsblog)

GEOTHERMAL

• Nearly 1,300 new housing units across two Brooklyn developments will be heated and cooled with geothermal energy, eliminating all gas-powered equipment from the buildings. (Habitat)

COMMENTARY

• Connecticut should prioritize expansions of clean energy and weatherization programs rather than pursuing expansions of natural gas infrastructure that could imperil vulnerable populations, says an environmental justice activist. (Hartford Courant)

• Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ proposal to elevate the state energy office to a cabinet-level department would strengthen the state’s ability to plan for a clean energy future, says the head of a regional climate organization. (Portland Press Herald)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• President Trump’s tariffs likely won’t harm the solar and wind industries as much as battery and EV makers, but the cleantech industry will still suffer and energy infrastructure will get harder to build, experts tell Jeff St. John.

• Southern California regulators consider new rules to clean the region’s smog-filled air, but stop short of mandating heat pumps and banning appliances that emit nitrogen oxides, Alison Takemura reports.