Clean Start: February 17, 2012

Welcome to Clean Start, ThinkProgress Green’s morning round-up of the latest in climate and clean energy. Here is what we’re reading. What are you?

Federal authorities say a long-planned project to divert more western Colorado water to growing Front Range suburbs may cause “significant degradation” of already deteriorating ecosystems along the upper Colorado River. [Denver Post]

Major industry groups have stepped up efforts to scuttle new EPA rules that require curbs on emissions of mercury and other air toxics from coal-fired power plants. [The Hill]

Although the floods of September 2011 may be a distant memory for some in upstate New York, many homeowners whose houses were damaged by the flood are still saddled with the financial consequences, because local governments delayed FEMA flood map revisions. [Binghamton Pipe Dream]

A judge’s decision paves the way for Northeast Ohio officials to begin a $38 million stormwater management program to reduce flooding and to charge a fee to pay for it. [WKYC]

Chrysler said on Thursday that it had dropped its longstanding request for $3.5 billion in federal energy loans after the Obama administration proposed tight restrictions on further aid to the company. [NYT]

Once again, GOP lawmakers and conservative commentators are on the attack, blaming President Barack Obama for higher prices at the pump, and promoting a “drill, baby drill” agenda as the answer. [Politico]

House lawmakers on Thursday approved a plan to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline and expand drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. [Politico]

BP and its Gulf of Mexico Macondo well partners and contractors face tens of billions of dollars of possible damages and liabilities from the historic oil spill, in a major legal battle due to kick off in New Orleans on February 27. [Reuters]

A federal investigation of fraud in the renewable fuels industry in Baltimore and Texas has drawn congressional interest, with Republican leaders of a House panel expressing concern that the Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of the cases could cause significant problems for the nation’s motor fuels markets. [Baltimore Sun]

Taxing power plants for their carbon emissions creates jobs, according to a report issued Wednesday by a New Jersey environmental policy group. [Philly.com]

U.S. natural-gas prices are in a “stable” range low enough to encourage power generators to switch from coal and high enough to keep gas producers from cutting production, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [Businessweek]

Tax breaks made to the state’s oil and natural gas industry during a fiscal crisis two years ago will cost Oklahoma nearly twice as much as originally expected, leaving budget officials with $48 million less to work with in the upcoming fiscal year. [CNBC]

WWL-TV is reporting that two vessels colliding on the Mississippi River near LaPlace early Friday morning has created an oil spill. [NOLA.com]