COAL: Attorneys representing 1,700 former Blackjewel employees in Wyoming in a class-action lawsuit reached a settlement yesterday with the bankrupt coal operator. (K2 Radio)

ALSO: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill into law requiring electric public utilities to “first make a good faith effort” to sell coal-fired electric generation facilities before retiring them. (Oil City News)

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CLIMATE: A policy expert says New Mexico’s goal to transition to carbon-free electricity by 2045 could be at risk, as any new natural gas assets could be “stranded” as companies divest from natural gas in favor of renewable energy. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

CALIFORNIA: Half Moon Bay, California residents and agencies are preparing for the next round of PG&E planned power shutoffs by investing in solar and backup batteries. (Half Moon Bay Review)

POLLUTION: A Wyoming lawmaker backtracks on a letter criticizing rejection of an oilfield wastewater permit that misleadingly implied it was from an entire committee. (WyoFile)

CLEAN ENERGY: The director of Colorado’s Energy Office says his agency is trying to figure out how to achieve the clean energy goals set out in the state’s 2019 climate plan. (Durango Herald)

OIL & GAS:
• Alaska regulators are set to decide today whether Hilcorp Energy can keep its finances private as the company seeks to acquire BP Alaska’s North Slope assets. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Small oil refineries in Wyoming are fighting for hardship relief in the wake of a federal court ruling earlier this year that would effectively invalidate exemptions from renewable energy standards. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• The CEO of a Denver-based oil field services company anticipates cutbacks among operators in the wake of coronavirus and price war worries. (Denver Post)
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is using private-sector advisors to help evaluate a large land and mineral rights purchase from Occidental Petroleum that could give the state access to Colorado’s oil and gas reserves. (WyoFile)

MICROGRIDS: A northern California city plans to build an integrated microgrid at its wastewater treatment plant. (Environment + Energy Leader)

PIPELINES: Construction is set to begin next month on the Keystone XL pipeline border crossing in northern Montana. (Associated Press)

TECHNOLOGY: Two University of Wyoming professors received a provisional patent for a method to help the oil and gas industry reduce emissions created by natural gas flaring and venting. (University of Wyoming News)

COMMENTARY:
• PGE&E’s CEO doesn’t think public ownership is the best path forward for the utility’s customers or for California. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Two California editorial boards say PG&E’s bankruptcy judge should reject the utility’s request to approve more than $450 million in bonuses for its employees and executives. (Mercury News)

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).