Trump repeals rule requiring oil companies to disclose foreign payments

POLICY:
• President Trump repeals an Obama-era rule that forced oil, natural gas and mining companies to disclose any payments they made abroad. (The Hill)
• Two previous rulings shed light on what President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee could mean for energy policy. (Utility Dive)

CLIMATE: Greenhouse gas emissions dropped in 2015, reducing America’s overall climate pollution to below 1994 levels, according to a new EPA report. (Climate Central)

CAP-AND-TRADE: A cap-and-trade program in Oregon would lower emissions and have little impact on the state’s economic output, according to a study from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. (Portland Business Journal)

SOLAR:
• Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission files an order to create shared solar projects that will be compensated differently based on the time of day that they provide power. (Greentech Media)
• A new study finds that residential energy storage can increase power consumption and undercut the environmental benefits of rooftop solar, but critics say the report is too narrow and ​“completely ignores the grid that the home is plugged in to.” (Utility Dive)

HYDRO:
• A damaged dam in Northern California is part of a network of state dams that are suffering from age and stress, and severe weather accelerated by global warming could lead to more trouble down the road. (New York Times)
• Natural gas plants will have to fill in for an 819-megawatt hydropower plant that is closed due to the dam crisis in California. (Bloomberg)
• Environmental groups urged federal officials to reinforce the infrastructure of California’s Oroville Dam, which is now deteriorating, nearly 12 years ago. (Greenwire)
• Research teams at Michigan’s two largest universities are working to overcome the some of the limitations of hydroelectric generation. (Midwest Energy News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Kansas City area is one of the fastest-growing electric vehicle markets in the country, thanks to a $20 million project launched two years ago by Kansas City Power & Light. (NPR)

POLLUTION: With a history of opposition toward a regional haze program, EPA chief nominee Scott Pruitt could offer relief to utilities that face costly cleanups for older coal-fired plants. (Greenwire)

COAL:
• Green groups are fighting a plan by Dominion Virginia Power to bury nearly 1 million tons of coal ash near the Potomac River, saying it would be dangerous to nearby residents and wildlife. (Washington Post)
• Coal giant Murray Energy files a motion with Ohio regulators to stop the planned closure of two coal-fired plants. (Dayton Business Journal)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado’s attorney general is suing to overturn Boulder County’s moratorium on oil and gas drilling, saying it violates state law and a state Supreme Court ruling. (Denver Business Journal)
• West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection says it won’t regulate the light and sound coming from natural gas compressor stations. (The Intelligencer)

FRACKING: A Democratic lawmaker in Nevada introduces legislation to ban fracking in the state and repeal previously approved regulations governing the practice. (Review-Journal)

PIPELINES:
• Environmental groups are appealing a decision by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for a 350-mile gas pipeline. (Associated Press)
• The movement to divest from banks that fund the Dakota Access Pipeline is growing. (Grist)
• Charges are refiled against a climate activist who tried to shut off an oil pipeline in Washington state after a jury failed to reach a verdict earlier this month. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Republicans are siding with polluters, not people, when it comes to protecting U.S. waterways, says a Sierra Club director. (Huffington Post)
• A federal rule to limit methane emissions would help Nevada by spurring innovation, creating jobs and improving health, according to a county parks and recreation supervisor. (Las Vegas Sun)