OIL & GAS: The Biden administration proposes rules aimed at reducing methane emissions from oil and gas facilities on federal land, but some conservationists say they won’t adequately limit routine venting and flaring. (Reuters, news release)

ALSO:
• The U.S. Interior Department is set to auction 958,000 acres of oil and gas leases next month in the Cook Inlet in Alaska after canceling a similar sale in May due to lack of industry interest. (Bloomberg)
• The first federal oil and gas lease sale in Utah under the Biden administration is slated for an area that has seen scant drilling in the past. (Salt Lake Tribune)   
• New Mexico archaeologists say oil and gas drilling in the Chaco Canyon region threatens hard-to-identify ancient agricultural fields. (NM Political Report)
• Permian Basin potash mining companies call for stricter regulations on oil and gas operations after a 2018 drilling accident blew a crater out of a defunct mine nearby. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)

TRANSPORTATION:
• California petroleum refining companies reject an invitation to testify at a state energy commission hearing on high fuel prices. (KCRA)   
• A northern California transit agency converts all of its commuter trains to run on biodiesel. (Pleasanton Weekly)   

HYDROGEN: Firms propose a $180 million facility in Kern County, California, that would use a 75 MW solar power installation to produce green hydrogen transportation fuel. (Bakersfield Californian)

COAL: U.S. lawmakers hope to avert a looming national railroad workers’ strike that could halt coal shipments out of the Powder River Basin. (New York Times)

UTILITIES: New Mexico’s Supreme Court rejects social justice groups’ challenge of a voter-approved measure turning the elected utility regulatory board into a governor-appointed one. (Associated Press) 

SOLAR:
• Alaska’s energy authority loans a developer $4.9 million to construct what would be the state’s largest solar power facility at 8.5 MW. (Alaska Public Media)
• Alaska consumer interest groups urge state lawmakers to pass legislation allowing utilities to establish and construct community solar programs and facilities. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Washington state regulators grant a developer’s request to postpone a public hearing on two controversial 80 MW solar facilities proposed for private land in Yakima County. (Yakima Herald-Republic)       

ELECTRIFICATION: An Oregon city’s proposal to ban natural gas hookups in new construction draws fierce public reaction both favoring and opposing it. (Register-Guard)

COMMENTARY: A Colorado columnist says Western states’ midterm results show voters support reasonable oil and gas drilling regulations. (High Country News)

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Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.