Judge deals rebuke to Trump’s ​‘temporary’ agency appointments

OVERSIGHT: A federal judge rules William Perry Pendley is illegally serving as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s practice of leaving unconfirmed ​“temporary” appointments in key positions. (Associated Press)

ALSO: The Interior Department suspends equity trainings ​“out of an abundance of caution” in response to a Trump executive order opposing the practice. (E&E News)

SUPREME COURT: Amy Coney Barrett’s judicial record doesn’t offer many clues as to how she would influence environmental cases if confirmed to the Supreme Court. (E&E News)

CARBON CAPTURE: ExxonMobil may have claimed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits for a Wyoming carbon capture project, while fighting a requirement to submit monitoring plans to the EPA. (InsideClimate)

POWER PLANTS: The Trump administration quietly reclassifies power plant ​“cooling ponds” as ​“waste treatment systems,” potentially stripping at least a dozen lakes from protection under the Clean Water Act. (Associated Press)

NUCLEAR: Decommissioning is underway at Iowa’s only nuclear plant, which opted not to restart after being damaged in a strong storm last month. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

PIPELINES:
• The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers reissues three permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross nearly 1,000 streams and wetlands. (Roanoke Times)
• Despite a recent agreement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit seeking to decommission the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac is still open and active. (Michigan Advance)

OIL & GAS: Closures and bankruptcies have abruptly rattled oil refining towns from California to Louisiana. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont calls the state legislature into a special session this week partly to deal with a proposal to penalize utilities for slow service restoration after major storms. (CT Post)
• Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan declines to testify before a legislative committee investigating possible disciplinary action over his alleged ties to the ComEd bribery scandal. (CBS Chicago)

SOLAR:
• Utah regulators this week will hear a case that could change the way Rocky Mountain Power customers are compensated for solar power. (Deseret News)
• Minnesota solar developers claim Xcel Energy is stalling new projects through delays in its interconnection process. (Star Tribune)

GRID: Smart meter programs are helping Missouri utilities roll out new customer rate programs that incentivize saving energy during peak times. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The New York City Sanitation Department starts a trial run of its first electric garbage truck. (Business Insider)
• Ameren Missouri has approval to begin installing electric vehicle charging stations that will be part of a planned multi-state network with other utilities. (St. Louis Public Radio)

ANALYSIS: Energy writer David Roberts explains why oil companies’ climate pledges are doomed to fall short. (Vox)

COMMENTARY:
• A web of fossil fuel interests, conservative think tanks and climate change deniers fund efforts to derail Pennsylvania’s entry into a regional emissions-trading agreement. (Energy Policy Institute)
• Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette criticizes renewable energy and pushes natural gas and nuclear power to provide ​“24/7 reliable energy” to California. (Orange County Register)