Unlikely allies in the fight over Ohio fracking waste disposal

Oct 14, 2023

OIL & GAS:• Ohio fossil fuel companies join environmental groups in objecting to current practices for disposing liquid fracking waste, which risk contaminating groundwater and interfering with oil and gas production. (Inside Climate News)• March was a "mixed bag" for North Dakota's fossil fuel industry as oil production dipped by 3% and gas production remained flat. (Star Tribune)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot agrees to settle a federal investigation into whether city officials directed heavy polluting industries to low-income communities of color. (Chicago Sun-Times)

PIPELINES: TC Energy says it has completed the cleanup of more than 500,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled into a Kansas creek late last year. (Nebraska Examiner)

SOLAR:• A developer pursues a 49.9 MW solar project across roughly 260 acres of farmland in Dayton, Ohio. (Dayton Daily News)• Michigan's second-largest city will seek federal funding and issue a request for proposals to repurpose a former landfill with solar. (MLive)• Land use concerns about removing prime farmland in Iowa grow as more large-scale solar projects surface. (KMALand)

HYDROELECTRIC: Wisconsin-based Dairyland Electric Cooperative is exploring the potential of former mines serving as pumped storage hydropower sites across the Upper Midwest. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

EMISSIONS: An Iowa county's first greenhouse gas emissions inventory shows that emissions decreased nearly 30% from 2010-2020 thanks largely to more clean energy generation. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

POLITICS:• Illinois lawmakers advance an ethics bill barring anyone convicted of certain crimes while in office from serving again, two weeks after guilty verdicts were handed down in the "ComEd Four" trial. (Capitol News Illinois)• Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and the former chair of the state's Republican Party will be sentenced at the end of June for their roles in a $60 million bribery scheme involving FirstEnergy. (WCMH)

CARBON CAPTURE: The regulations and procedures for building carbon capture pipelines vary widely across Midwestern states where developers hope to build projects. (Nebraska Examiner)

RENEWABLES:• A Michigan State University researcher refutes claims that wind and solar projects cause widespread harm to wildlife or the environment as local officials consider banning commercial scale renewable energy projects. (WLNS)• Illinois lawmakers pass a bill that would prevent commercial wind and solar development in a city's enterprise zone designated for industrial development. (News-Leader)• The industry for wind turbine and solar panel recycling is poised for major growth as both industries continue to scale up but lack economical recycling options. (CNBC)

WIND:• Developers hold a public open house for a proposed 200 MW wind project in southwestern Minnesota. (Marshall Independent)• Iowa county officials approve MidAmerican Energy's plan to repower a nearly 10-year-old wind project that would include larger turbines. (Times-Republican)

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Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing's alternative newsweekly.