** A suburban Omaha county passes new zoning regulations that could complicate or possibly undo a utility’s plans for a major solar project and gas plant to serve the city.
** Attorneys for Enbridge and the Michigan attorney general argue in court over whether a 2018 law paving the way for a pipeline tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac was constitutional.
** A state commission issues a $500,000 grant to the University of North Dakota to continue research on carbon capture and storage at ethanol plants.
** Colorado regulators unanimously vote in favor of a Colorado Springs Utilities plan that would end all production at a local coal-fired power plant no later than 2023 and reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2030.
** U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit is among lawmakers calling for future stimulus funds to not be used to support fossil fuel companies.
** Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency in a region within the Arctic Circle in far northern Russia after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into a river from a power plant.
** Iowa State University plans to spend up to $14 million to replace two remaining coal-fired boilers with natural gas, ending the campus’ use of coal.
** A New Jersey brief filed at the U.S. Supreme Court says the pipeline industry exaggerates harm caused by a state decision to block eminent domain seizures of public lands.
** A first-of-its-kind study finds that pregnant women in rural California were 40% more likely to give birth to babies with a low birthweight if living near active oil and gas wells.
** An investigation into elevated levels of benzene near a Greeley, Colorado school finds no air quality health risks for students or residents.
** A bankruptcy court approves a settlement that allows a closed Philadelphia refinery to avoid millions in unpaid renewable energy credits.
** New Jersey becomes the first state in the nation to require climate change education in its standard K-12 curriculum.
** A federal judge denies a request from coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to dismiss a lawsuit over violations for discharging the chemical selenium at a coal mine.
** Kentucky and West Virginia are among the states that have introduced bills or passed laws in recent years that increased penalties for interfering with oil and gas activity or disturbing government meetings.