"Public utility commissions have a ton of influence over utility rate hikes and power plant construction, but only a handful of states let voters decide who’s on them."
"As Staci Hartwell sees it, her community has much more to lose than to gain from the development of a massive data center."
"President Donald Trump said new regulatory rollbacks on chemical refrigerants will reduce the prices consumers pay for groceries and will not impact the environment. However, U.S. chemical, refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturers said the changes will raise prices and his administration’s own projections show that greenhouse gas pollution will increase."
"In the latest action to undo Biden-era regulations on climate change, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday proposed repealing a rule that requires some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and the risks they face from global warming."
"Executive orders limiting off-road vehicle access to federal lands signed decades ago by Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter have been revoked by President Donald Trump, drawing concerns over possible impacts to Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands and perhaps some in the National Park System."
"Federal regulators are giving chemical manufacturers and petroleum refiners more time to provide data on a group of chemicals that have been linked to human health harms as officials consider tighter regulations."
"At a virtual public comment hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, a long line of environmental advocates voiced strong opposition to proposed new regulations weakening requirements that utilities must follow in cleaning up toxic coal ash residue at hundreds of sites across the country at which coal was burned to produce electricity."
"Illinois lawmakers last week passed a new law establishing more robust requirements for monitoring per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — better known as PFAS “forever chemicals” — in wastewater discharges at major facilities across the state. The deciding 64-34 House vote came just days after the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rescinding limits for select toxic PFAS compounds in drinking water — a decision that environmental advocates, and the Illinois EPA, immediately rebuffed."
"The Republican appropriations bill for the Interior Department proposes per-turbine fees for wind projects, potentially boosting those costs much higher than fees paid by oil and gas companies."
"EPA’s efforts to undo Biden-era climate rules for power plants could get a major overhaul before they clear White House review, according to some insiders watching the process."
