Government & Policy Roundup

A federal judge has refused to declare a mistrial in a lawsuit that resulted in a $553.9 million judgment against Dow Chemical and another contractor that once operated the Energy Department's Rocky Flats nuclear weapons site, near Denver. The decision by U.S. District Judge John Kane is a setback for DOE, which indemnified both contractors and will have to pay the judgment unless it is reversed on appeal.

Chemical plant security regulations must be developed by the Department of Homeland Security within six months under an amendment cleared by the House Appropriations Committee on May 17. The amendment's author, Rep. Martin Sabo (D-Minn.), said such regulations would be superseded if long-stalled legislation under consideration by congressional authorizing committees is passed.

Twelve sites in seven states were selected as finalists to host a $1 billion experimental coal-fired electrical power plant, says the Department of Energy and a consortium of coal and power companies. The 275-MW integrated-gasification combined-cycle plant will produce electricity and hydrogen and capture CO₂ gas. A final site will be chosen next year.