New Colorado drilling rules may be toughest in the U.S.

OIL & GAS: Colorado regulators adopt new rules to protect groundwater from drilling operations that are believed to be the strictest in the country. (Colorado Sun)

ALSO:
• A Colorado environmental group drops its plans to place an anti-fracking measure on the state’s November ballot, citing the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
• New Mexico oil and gas regulators issue civil penalties to two companies for illegally dumping produced water on state trust lands and on a road. (Associated Press)
• Navajo activists outline the impacts they’ve seen since drilling activity began in the Chaco Canyon area in New Mexico. (The Guardian)

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ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla’s stock price hits a new high; meanwhile, more employees at its reopened California plant test positive for COVID-19. (The Verge)

CALIFORNIA: PG&E announces the appointment of 11 new board members as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. (New York Times)

EMISSIONS:
• Southern California Edison says its emissions have fallen nearly 50% since 2005 in a new sustainability report. (Daily Energy Insider)
• Two Hawaaiian public advocacy groups win a state supreme court appeal over whether greenhouse gas emissions outside the state need to be considered for fuel imported by a local utility. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription)

NUCLEAR: A watchdog group argues that the application for a proposed nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico has an illegal provision that violates federal law. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• A Western advocacy group says the BLM’s decision to award energy companies breaks on oil and gas extraction payments shows that ​“royalty dodgers” are allowed to benefit at the expense of local and state governments dependent on natural resource revenues. (Associated Press)
• A federal judge stalls his order that Wyoming repay $47.5 million it received from two oil and gas lease sales in 2018, ruling the state can appeal his decision. (WyoFile)
• The leaders of Colorado agencies charged with environmental responsibility are critical of the Trump administration’s decision to weaken environmental reviews to speed up federal permitting. (Colorado Politics)

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FOSSIL FUELS: A University of Wyoming economist says the state’s fossil fuels producers are facing significant losses due to the coronavirus crisis. (Cowboy State Daily)

MICROGRIDS: The co-author of a new report on microgrids says the fastest growing segment of the market is commercial and industrial clients concerned with high utility rates in California and other states. (Utility Dive)