Energy & Fuel

"BELCHATOW, Poland -- They call it Poland’s biggest hole in the ground."

"Pacific Gas and Electric Co. should pay a $6.75 million fine for delaying the disclosure of record-keeping flaws on a San Carlos gas pipeline that were 'distressingly similar' to problems that contributed to the San Bruno gas line disaster of 2010, a regulatory judge ruled Wednesday."

"A geyser of gasoline spewed into the sky from a state-owned pipeline in western Mexico, forcing officials to evacuate about 5,000 people Wednesday. Authorities blamed the accident on fuel thieves tapping into the pipe."

"WRENSHALL, Minn. -- Canadian pipeline builder Enbridge will file applications this week to build a $2.5 billion oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. Opponents, though, are organizing already for a fight."

"HOUSTON -- Over the past two years, environmentalists have chained themselves to the White House fence and otherwise coalesced around stopping the Keystone XL pipeline as their top priority in the fight against global warming. But even if President Obama rejects the pipeline, it might not matter much. Oil companies are already building rail terminals to deliver oil from western Canada to the United States, and even to Asia."

"WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to come up with a plan for finalizing federal regulations on coal ash that have been stalled for four years."

"WASHINGTON — In an aggressive move to impose President Obama’s environmental policies overseas, the Treasury Department on Tuesday largely declared an end to United States support for new coal-fired power plants around the world. The decision means that Mr. Obama’s administration will no longer contribute to coal projects financed by the World Bank and other international development banks."

"Last week, the Whatcom County Council in northwestern Washington voted to buy six new SUVs for the local Sheriff's Department and introduced its annual road construction plan. These were significant developments in this sleepy rural enclave of scarcely 200,000 people, but nothing compared to what's on the horizon: A proposal to build the largest coal export terminal on the West Coast, capable of annually shipping a whopping 48 million tons of Montana and Wyoming coal to Asia."

"Consol Energy, the largest coal producer in the eastern United States, said on Monday that it was selling five highly automated mines -- about half of its production capacity -- to focus instead on natural gas and on mines that produce coal for export."

"SAN FRANCISCO -- Saying that the West Coast must lead the way in battling climate change, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington, along with the premier of British Columbia, signed an agreement Monday committing the Canadian province and the three states to coordinate global-warming policies."