Politics 2015 green regulations kick in Better fracking reporting, roomier chicken cages, food waste charges and more

With every new year come new laws on the books, and while minimum wage hikes, driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants and a big-cat selfie ban might be stealing headlines, a variety of environmental laws are also coming online this week. After surveying state legislatures and local news outlets, we’ve rounded up several of the most noteworthy newly enacted laws governing water, energy, land and agriculture in the West.

Oil and Gas Regulation

California now requires all oil and gas well operators to report more information about the water they use in their drilling. Operators must report both the source and volume of water injected underground for any reason, including hydraulic fracturing.

Colorado also put stricter oil and gas rules on the books this week, as the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) approved significant increases in financial penalties for operator violations. The COGCC was given the authority for the increase last year but had delayed action until this week. Daily penalty caps rose from $1,000 to $15,000. The COGCC also removed the previous penalty maximum of $10,000. Somewhat surprisingly, oil and gas operators largely support the increases, perhaps because the penalty maximum had not changed since 1955.

Waste Management

In Washington, a new environmental handling charge of 25 cents will now be added to the cost of all fluorescent light bulbs. Residents were already required to recycle used fluorescent bulbs due to their mercury content, and the new charge will help fund the statewide LightRecycle program.

A new law in Seattle fines households for disposing of food waste in the general garbage pickup, rather than with specific food and yard waste collection. The city cites unnecessary financial costs and greenhouse gas emissions that come with the annual disposal of 100,000 tons of food waste. Households that dump food or other food-soiled recyclable products can be fined $1 on their bi-monthly bill.

While not yet in effect, California’s highly contested plastic bag ban is scheduled to begin this summer. Ban opponents, however, recently submitted signatures that could delay the rollout—as well as spur a November ballot measure to overturn the ban.