Unreclaimed coal mines fester as watchdog goes leaderless

OVERSIGHT: As collapsing coal companies leave huge swaths of unreclaimed Appalachian mineland, the federal agency tasked with overseeing surface mine reclamation hasn’t had a director since the Trump administration. (New Republic)

ALSO:

• Virginia lawmakers appoint new members to fill two longstanding vacancies on the state’s three-member regulatory board, although one has already said she’ll recuse herself in the case of a proposed transmission line. (Virginia Mercury, Loudoun Times-Mirror)
• West Virginia is required by state law to develop a five-year energy plan to guide state policies and the private sector, but hasn’t completed one since 2013. (Mountain State Spotlight)

SOLAR: A Texas board grants a property tax exemption for a Chinese company building a solar panel factory, signaling local support and moving the project closer to a federal foreign trade zone designation that would significantly lower its supply costs. (Dallas Morning News)

COAL:

• Virginia residents ask a city council to approve a fence or dome to block blowing dust from two nearby coal terminals that’s coating homes, cars, schools and playgrounds. (Virginian-Pilot)
• Georgia officials find a 98.4% decrease in mercury levels in state waterways as coal-fired power plants close down. (Macon Telegraph)
• A judge denies a request by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family for a trial as a Virginia bank moves to to claim more than $300 million in personally-guaranteed loans. (Cardinal News, WV Metro News)

OIL & GAS:

• Small oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin scramble to comply with new methane emission regulations released by the U.S. EPA last month. (KWES)
• International gas buyers worry the Biden administration may reverse course and slow permitting for the massive buildout of liquified natural gas facilities along the Gulf Coast. (Houston Chronicle)

HYDROPOWER: A Kentucky developer moves through the federal permitting process to dig two reservoirs at a former coal mine to turn it into a pumped-storage energy project. (Louisville Public Media)

NUCLEAR:

• Activists who want more transparency about proposed small nuclear reactors in southwestern Virginia form an umbrella group as they hold community meetings across the region. (Kingsport TimesNews)
• A Congress member pitches a Kentucky community as a location to develop advanced nuclear power. (Kentucky Today)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric vehicle maker Canoo announces it will sell six cars to the U.S. Postal Service as the agency moves to electrify its fleet. (KOCO)

EFFICIENCY: Louisiana regulators move to adopt new energy efficiency standards to prioritize low-income residents while assigning funding decisions to an outside administrator. (WAFB)

HYDROGEN: A company opens a Georgia factory to develop hydrogen as vehicle and power plant fuel, despite the uncertainty of proposed federal incentives. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

CLEAN ENERGY: A conservative clean energy group releases a poll showing large majorities of South Carolina voters support renewable energy development. (Columbia Regional Business Report)

UTILITIES: Environmental groups plan a public meeting to pressure the Tennessee Valley Authority to build more renewables instead of gas-fired facilities. (WPLN)

COMMENTARY:

• Virginia lawmakers should approve legislation to create a community solar program that would repurpose former coal mining and industrial sites that are too small for utility-scale solar farms, writes a local elected official. (Cardinal News)
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin shouldn’t stand in the way of efforts to rejoin a regional carbon market aimed at reducing emissions while providing funding for flood reduction projects, writes an editorial board. (Virginian-Pilot)