** Ohio has filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern to make sure it pays for the cleanup and environmental damage caused by a fiery train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month.
** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule to require industrial facilities and power plants in 23 states to cut their smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, one of several air quality and climate regulations it is due to unveil.
** U.S. customs officials have released more than a third of the electronic equipment, including solar panels, detained since last year under a new law meant to weed out products made with forced labor, according to data released on Tuesday. The release of the new data dashboard by U.S. Customs and Border Protection comes a week after Reuters reported that U.S. imports of solar panels are finally picking up after months of gridlock stemming from implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act.
** Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Tuesday restricting electric car manufacturers from selling vehicles in person unless they open franchised dealerships. Defying calls from some fellow Republicans in the Legislature to veto the measure, Reeves enacted into law House Bill 401, introduced by Republican Rep. Trey Lamar of Senatobia.
** The Biden administration said on Tuesday it rescinded a land swap deal struck by former President Donald Trump’s interior secretary that would have allowed a new road to cut through an Alaska wildlife refuge. The decision comes as President Joe Biden’s administration faces heavy criticism from environmental groups for its approval earlier this week of a massive oil and gas development in Alaska’s Arctic.
** A closely watched rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission that would require public companies to say much more to shareholders about how their operations affect the climate has generated more public comment than many recent regulations from the agency, attorneys and industry experts say. The SEC is expected to issue a final rule in the spring following a draft last summer that drew nearly 15,000 comments, according to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
** Chevron said on Tuesday it reported how much money it made in January from selling gasoline in California, disclosing the data after regulators threatened to fine the company for not following a new law aimed at investigating the cause of the state’s high gas prices
World
** Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dismissed as “sheer nonsense” allegations that Ukrainians could be behind the blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year, and again pointed the finger at the U.S.
** Enbridge Inc. is investing billions to grow its transportation and storage capabilities around North America, including several projects on the Gulf Coast. The Calgary-based midstream company – among North America’s largest pipeline operators – has recently announced billions of investments, including deploying $2.4 billion on crude oil and natural gas pipeline transmission, storage, liquids terminals and renewable natural gas production.
** The European Union moved closer to ending a trade dispute with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday following months of wrangling over the billions of America-first incentives in his clean technology plans and said it would ramp up a similar subsidy-laden effort at home.
** Philippine authorities have increased efforts to contain an oil spill from a sunken fuel tanker that has affected coastal towns and was still spreading, the environment ministry said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with cleanup challenges.