Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY)

"On Jackson Ramsay’s family ranch late in the summer, there were few signs it had just weathered the worst-ever winter snowpack and record-setting heat."

"Concerns about siting, water and electricity demand have led to calls for more oversight of data center construction in the Cowboy State, but not alignment on how to achieve it."

"The Supreme Court on Monday grappled with whether to let a novel lawsuit go forward that is seeking to hold two large oil companies liable for the effects of climate change, a decision that will be critical to similar litigation that dozens of states, counties and cities have brought in recent years." "After more than two hours of argument, it was unclear whether the justices would green-light Boulder, Colorado’s novel lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy."

"The justices are about to hear a lawsuit that could determine whether the oil industry faces billions of dollars in liability for damages caused by global warming."

"A proposal to find new water for the Southwest by using desalinated ocean water from Mexico faces difficult odds as what remains of the waning Colorado River is legally contested by its surrounding states."

"Officials in the Upper Colorado River Basin plan to continue draining Flaming Gorge in Wyoming to protect Lake Powell, one of the basin’s largest reservoirs."

"A state investigation shines light on the unpermitted fire, which cost nearly $950,000 to contain."

"The first mining claims have been staked in areas that were formerly part of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, after President Donald Trump issued an order in July shrinking it to less than 10 percent of its original size."

"The City of Reno and Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) broke ground last week on an Advanced Purified Water Facility, a plant that will treat roughly 2 million gallons of wastewater a day to make it compliant with drinking-water standards and send it into a groundwater aquifer near Stead Airport, a first for Nevada."