NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Temporary rules restrict solar development
defined as Class I, Class II,
prime and unique.
However, the revised
rules will allow solar facili-
ties of up to 20 acres on such
soils if the project includes a
“farm use element” for the
project’s duration, as deter-
mined by county land use
rules. The special rules for
“dual use” facilities are set
to expire in 2022.
Due to a request to sub-
mit additional information,
the commission will also
revisit the solar rules again
at its meeting on March
21-22 with the goal of enact-
ing permanent regulations.
A representative of
Renewable Northwest, a
nonprofit that supports solar
energy, hopes the additional
information will be compel-
ling enough for the commis-
sion to decide changes need
to be made to the rules.
“From the perspective
of solar interests, the rule is
extremely prohibitive and
has the potential to cripple
the state’s community solar
program before it really gets
going,” said Rikki Seguin,
the group’s policy director.
Under Oregon’s commu-
nity solar program, residents
could subscribe to a shared
solar facility within their
utility’s service district, but
the recently adopted rules
could greatly restrict where
projects could be built in the
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
EO Media Group
Oregon’s land use reg-
ulators have temporarily
expanded restrictions on
solar arrays on high-value
farmland over the objections
of advocates who claim
they’ll impede development.
Solar facilities larger
than 12 acres on high-value
farmland have required con-
ditional use permits in Ore-
gon, but ambiguities in the
regulatory language raised
concerns among farm and
conservation groups.
For example, one proj-
ect was approved without a
permit last year because the
county government deter-
mined it didn’t “preclude”
agriculture use, since bees
could still forage beneath
the solar panels.
In response to these con-
cerns, the Land Conser-
vation and Development
Commission issued tem-
porary rules clarifying that
solar projects cannot “use,
occupy or cover” more
than 12 acres, regardless
of whether they “preclude”
farm uses.
During a Jan. 24 meet-
ing in Salem, the commis-
sion voted to approve addi-
tional provisions prohibiting
most solar development on
top-quality soils: those
Contributed by Oregon State University/Capital Press
Sheep graze underneath a solar array at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where re-
searchers discovered grass growing more lush later in the season than elsewhere in the pas-
ture. Such dual use projects are subject to special provisions under new Oregon rules for
solar developments.
Willamette Valley, Seguin
said.
Solar facilities can help
Oregon farmers earn extra
income to keep their land in
the family and the property
can ultimately be returned
to agricultural use, she said.
“There’s a fixed life to
solar facilities,” Seguin
said, adding that preserv-
ing Oregon farmland should
be balanced with develop-
ing the state’s clean energy
economy.
“What we see missing
from these rules is any con-
sideration of balance.”
The farmland preserva-
tion group 1,000 Friends of
Oregon supports the tem-
porary rules in light of the
“challenging process” and
“strong interests on all sides
of the issue,” said Meriel
Darzen, rural lands attorney
for the nonprofit.
“In the end, we feel the
department did the best it
could with the very difficult
position it was in,” she said.
The regulation takes
the “best of the best soils”
off the table while leaving
enough land open so solar
development can occur in
BRIEFLY
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
Clouds giving way
to some sun
Mostly cloudy
39° 27°
43° 29°
SATURDAY
FRIDAY
THURSDAY
WEDNESDAY
Mostly cloudy
A little afternoon
rain
Intervals of clouds
and sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
47° 38°
46° 36°
47° 34°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
41° 27°
49° 41°
43° 37°
45° 32°
43° 29°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
53/34
Kennewick Walla Walla
39/28
Lewiston
52/31
40/27
Astoria
54/35
40/26
45/23
Longview
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Pullman
Yakima 42/24
50/29
44/26
Portland
Hermiston
51/33
The Dalles 41/27
Salem
Corvallis
51/30
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
41/24
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
51/32
43/26
46/27
Ontario
43/21
43/21
40/17
0.00"
1.53"
1.16"
1.53"
1.10"
1.16"
Salem seeks millions to
improve drinking water
SALEM (AP) — City leaders in Salem
met with state legislators last week to dis-
cuss funding an $80 million plan to fortify
the city’s water system and ensure drink-
ing water is free from harmful algal toxins.
The Statesman Journal reports the plan
includes developing an ozone contact cham-
ber to remove cyanotoxins, digging wells to
provide a backup water supply and building
berms to protect the treatment plant next to
the North Santiam River from flooding.
Officials said they will ask the state to
help pay for the upgrades. The need for
cleaning out cyanotoxins and developing
a backup water system became apparent
to city officials last summer when Salem
experienced a month-long drinking water
crisis.
Idaho fisheries forecast poor
for chinook salmon season
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — An early
forecast by fisheries managers in Idaho
indicates a poor outlook for the upcoming
chinook salmon season.
A group of federal, state and tribal fish-
WINDS (in mph)
Caldwell
Burns
40°
34°
44°
29°
61° (1984) -21° (1957)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
52/33
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 40/21
52/32
0.00"
2.07"
1.28"
2.07"
1.59"
1.28"
HERMISTON
Enterprise
39/27
46/30
36°
31°
43°
28°
67° (1931) -14° (1957)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
50/26
Aberdeen
35/21
37/23
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
53/34
the appropriate areas, she
said.
The rules are likely just
the beginning of the con-
versation and 1,000 Friends
of Oregon would like to see
Oregon continue to revisit
the issue and develop a
statewide vision for renew-
able energy and land use,
Darzen said.
Data collected by Ore-
gon’s Department of Land
Conservation and Develop-
ment — which is overseen
by the commission — indi-
cates 80 projects are cur-
rently proposed on nearly
1,000 acres of high-value
farmland in the Willamette
Valley.
Although solar advocates
argued that proposed solar
projects represent less than
one-tenth of 1 percent of the
nearly 1.46 million acres of
high-value farmland in the
Willamette Valley, DLCD
recommended enacting the
stricter regulations because
the farmland impacts have
been “disproportionate” in
some areas.
The proposed conver-
sion of nearly 1,000 acres
of high-value farmland in
the region “in a relatively
short period of time” indi-
cated that the existing rules
for solar development were
“too permissive” in the con-
text of preserving farmland,
the agency said.
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
58/37
Wed.
ENE 4-8
NNW 4-8
NE 3-6
N 4-8
eries managers predicts just over 48,000
spring chinook will return to the mouth
of the Snake River, the Lewiston Tribune
reported.
Last year’s forecast had expected a
return of 107,400 chinook, but just 67,595
showed up. This year’s forecast by the
Technical Advisory Committee includes a
predicted return of 8,200 wild spring chi-
nook and fewer than 40,000 hatchery fish.
Man guilty but insane in
killings of father, pedestrians
SPRINGFIELD (AP) — A man accused
of killing his father and two pedestrians in
2015 has been sentenced to spend the rest
of his life in the care of the Oregon Health
Authority Psychiatric Security Review
Board.
The Register Guard reports that
Michael Jefferson Bryant, 34, was found
guilty except for insanity Friday by Lane
County Circuit Court Judge Ilisa Rooke-
Ley for three counts of aggravated mur-
der, two counts of attempted murder, two
counts of first-degree assault, aggravated
first-degree animal abuse, first-degree
arson, and fleeing or attempting to elude a
police officer.
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
54/27
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
7:21 a.m.
4:56 p.m.
2:13 a.m.
12:16 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Feb 4
Feb 12
Feb 19
Feb 26
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 82° in McAllen, Texas Low -29° in Pellston, Mich.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Diabetes Education Series
Diabetes Self
Management Series
February 7 th , 14 th , 21 st & 28 th
9:30am to 11:30am
Advance Registration Required
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2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
www.sahpendleton.org
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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0s
showers t-storms
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rain
20s
flurries
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snow
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ice
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