Saturday, May 18, 2019
East Oregonian
A9
Glare: Years of behind-the-scenes wrangling leads to solar glare warning sign
Pickett referred multiple
inquiries to Paul Whitacre,
an asset manager for the
solar farm’s new owner:
New Energy Solar.
Continued from Page A1
After some back-and-
forth between ODOT, Chris-
man, and a representative
from the solar farm’s owner,
Cypress Creek Renewables,
he got his answer a month
later.
ODOT permit special-
ist Thomas Lapp wrote that
the department didn’t have
any solar study require-
ments, but that didn’t mean
it wanted glare to become an
issue.
“We don’t want any light
directed to the highway due
to onsite lighting though,”
he wrote. “So with this in
mind we won’t ask for any
glare study for approval.”
A
week-and-a-half
later, the Pendleton Plan-
ning Commission unani-
mously approved the solar
farm without delibera-
tion, according to meeting
minutes.
Community
Develop-
ment Director Tim Simons
said the commission could
have made glare mitigation
a condition of approval, but
it wasn’t seen as an issue at
the time.
“The FFA (sic) has sub-
mitted a letter that declares
no issues with regards to
glare,” the meeting min-
utes state. “ODOT has also
stated no issues with glare.”
Growing concern
ODOT wouldn’t get
another email about the
issue until 2018.
As complaints started
cropping up about the glare
refl ecting off the solar pan-
els, a Cypress Creek spokes-
man vowed that the com-
pany was taking the issue
seriously.
“We are currently work-
ing with a third party con-
sulting partner to further
analyze the project’s refl ec-
tive light and take the appro-
priate mitigation measures
if necessary,” Public Rela-
tions Director Jeff McKay
told the East Oregonian in
July 2018. “Cypress Creek
is 100 percent committed
to ensuring we follow any
A new sign
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Traffi c passes a sign warning of potential glare from a solar array off of Interstate 84 on the
outskirts of Pendleton.
and all safety measures on
our projects. It’s our top
priority.”
Later that month, cor-
respondence between the
city and ODOT resumed
as Pendleton Public Works
Director Bob Patterson
relayed complaints he was
getting from the public.
“From my discussion
with a few of the callers,
the glare is really bad right
now at about 7:45 am com-
ing into Pendleton from the
solar array,” he wrote. Also,
from my last caller, the glare
is coming off the panels, not
just the structural support
metal.”
ODOT District 12 Man-
ager Marilyn Holt thanked
Patterson and said the
department had been fi eld-
ing complaints too.
As Holt started trading
emails with Cypress Creek,
the city and ODOT were
pulled back into the fray
when a truck driver emailed
in a complaint about the
glare while looping in Pat-
terson and a Portland-area
television station.
As ODOT tried to col-
lect more information from
the city, Patterson suggested
to Holt that the department
install a sign by the highway.
“I still recommend con-
sideration of a simple warn-
ing sign at the top of Rieth
Ridge conveying “Solar
Array Ahead – Summer
Seasonal Glare – Keep Eyes
on Road” or something
like that if ODOT believes
the glare is too much of an
issue,” he wrote.
Holt seemed skeptical of
the study while also reiter-
ating her interest in Cypress
Creek’s third party study.
Inquiring about the study
would become an issue all
its own.
An elusive study
Amy Berg Pickett, a
regional zoning and out-
reach manager for Cypress
Creek, emailed Holt on July
19, 2018, to tell her about
the glare study the company
was commissioning.
“Please Note Cypress
Creek Renewables has
hired a 3rd party refl ective
light expert consulting fi rm
to study the potential for
refl ective light as it relates to
the Pendleton Solar farm,”
she wrote. “The consul-
tant has a sophisticated tool
that quantifi es levels based
on a number of key inputs
(slope, terrain, type of PV
panels, angle). The fi rm has
also conducted independent
research on refl ective light
and will help put context to
the levels occurring.”
By mid-September, Holt
was inquiring with Patter-
son whether the city had the
study, but he redirected her
to Cypress Creek.
As she tried to arrange
an in-person meeting with
Holt, Pickett wrote that
the study was still being
conducted.
Holt then reminded Pick-
ett that Cypress Creek was
supposed to have delivered
the glare study in August.
In an interview, Holt
said she eventually ended
up viewing the study. But
ODOT reported that it could
not locate the glare study
in its fi les, and as a result,
didn’t produce it as a part of
the records request.
Patterson said in an inter-
view that he hasn’t seen
a glare study for the solar
farm, but added that Chris-
man, the airport manager,
might know.
Reached by phone on
Thursday, Chrisman said
he was on the East Coast
but could fi eld questions on
Friday. He did not return a
message left on his phone on
Friday.
The exchange between
ODOT and the solar farm’s
owners culminated in the
fall of 2018 with a letter from
Craig Sipp, the ODOT man-
ager for Eastern Oregon.
Sipp wrote that ODOT
was concerned that the
glare would cause a traf-
fi c accident and reiterated
the department’s desire to
review the glare study.
If the city or the own-
ers didn’t address the issue,
ODOT would hold them
responsible.
“In the event there is an
accident due to the solar
glare and a claim or law
suit is fi led against ODOT,
we will look to the City and
Norwest Energy 9, LLC (the
subsidiary that operates the
solar farm) to defend and
indemnify the state against
any and all liability,” Sipp
wrote.
Sipp also suggested the
owners take a look at install-
ing a sign. After respond-
ing to Sipp and ODOT,
New Energy Solar seemed
responsive to the idea.
As both sides began orga-
nizing plans for the sign, the
tone from ODOT became
more conciliatory.
“ODOT would also like
to thank you for your under-
standing of the effect that
the solar panels are hav-
ing with glare along I-84
in Pendleton, and for your
effort to help make the trav-
eling public more aware of
potential glare issues with
the placement of warning
signs at this location,” Paul
Howland, an ODOT man-
ager, wrote to Whitacre in
December.
Howland
emailed
Whitacre in February to
announce a sign reading
“CAUTION Possible Solar
Glare” was installed. An
invoice states that ODOT
charged New Energy $6,260
for the sign.
In a March email to the
East Oregonian, Whitacre
wrote that New Energy
became aware of the issue
when it purchased the solar
farm and reviewed Cypress
Creek’s study in addition to
commissioning a study of its
own.
“Our study noted that
similar visual impairments
occur for highway driv-
ers from building, water, or
highway refl ections and to
more extreme levels from
direct sun and oncoming
headlights,” he wrote. “Fol-
lowing consultation with
ODOT in December 2018,
it was determined that a
sign advising of the poten-
tial for glare would enable
drivers to better understand
the landscape and driving
conditions. Similar signage
advising of temporal envi-
ronmental hazards, high
winds, and blowing dust
that may impact vision is
already present in the area.”
The East Oregonian
reached out for additional
comment on Thursday, but
Whitacre said no one from
the New York-based com-
pany was available for com-
ment by deadline.
In an interview, Holt
admitted that she was ini-
tially skeptical about the
effectiveness of a sign, but
she came around when she
reviewed the studies that
concluded that the glare
didn’t pose a hazard to
traffi c.
Holt said ODOT doesn’t
have any glare mitigation
requirements for roadside
solar farms, but they are
becoming more prevalent
across the state.
She added that ODOT
would follow the lead of the
federal government for solar
glare traffi c regulations.
Patterson said he was
glad ODOT and New
Energy Solar eventually fol-
lowed his recommendation.
Both the city and ODOT
will be waiting to see
whether the complaints will
spike again as the sun starts
to align with the solar panels
this summer.
Painting: Participants show up to a
party where supplies are provided
Continued from Page A1
Hospitals: Medical facilities provide
employment that helps local economies
Continued from Page A1
The report also calcu-
lated the economic con-
tributions from hospital
community benefi t expen-
ditures like providing
free or discounted care to
low-income individuals,
conducting education or
research to promote com-
munity health, or donating
funds and/or services to
community groups.
“EOCCO is a prime
example of area hospitals
coming together,” Reding
said. “We are very proud
to be making sure peo-
ple have the coverage they
need.”
Health care providers
aren’t only making part-
ners with other businesses
to streamline administra-
tion and other services, but
the industry trend is creat-
ing partnerships to deliver
the best care.
“What we are fi nding
right now, if we are really
going to meet the health
care needs of the commu-
nity, our hospitals are fi nd-
ing partners with our inde-
pendent clinics, Interpath
EO fi le photo
At hospitals in Umatilla County, including Pendleton’s
Catholic Health Initiatives St. Anthony Hospital, above,
and Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston, 950 peo-
ple work directly for the hospitals, providing more than
$89 million to the gross state product and $3.5 million to
state and local taxes.
Laboratories as well as
mental health and our local
police,” Reding said.
ECONorthwest’s study
revealed on average, from
2004 to 2016, the growth
in rural health care jobs
averaged 1.3% while total
employment has grown
only 0.4%. The only year
during this time period
when growth has been
negative was 2011, which
was the year after the 2010
passing of the Affordable
Care Act. Between 2013
and 2017 hospital employ-
ment in Oregon grew from
59,709 to 68,362, approx-
imately 14%. Of that
growth, 10% occurred
since 2015.
The most famous step-
by-step painting instructor
was Bob Ross, an American
artist who hosted an instruc-
tional television program
from 1983 to 1994 on PBS.
Since his death in 1995 his
legacy in pop culture has
grown, aided by his show’s
availability on Netfl ix and
the Instagrammable nature
of paint nights with friends
(and, usually, wine).
Kathy Spears has been
hosting “paint parties”
around Umatilla and Mor-
row counties for about three
years now, including one
Thursday a month at the
bowling alley.
She started painting after
she fi nished treatment for
cancer.
“I needed something to
think about besides the can-
cer,” she said. “I’m fi ve years
cancer-free. I don’t want to
think about it every day —
is the cancer going to come
back? Every cancer survivor
needs a hobby.”
Eventually she attended
a couple of paint nights with
friends up in the Tri-Cities,
and decided it was some-
thing she could do. She
started building up supplies
and creating paintings that
she could teach others to
recreate.
“Pinterest is a great inspi-
ration,” she said. “Or some-
one will say to me, ‘I want
to paint a tree,’ or whatever
and I’ll see what I can come
up with.”
Thursday’s participants
— 10 women and one man
— had a choice between
painting a sunfl ower or a jel-
lyfi sh, both of which rested
on the same streaked back-
ground in various shades of
blue and green. A couple of
participants brought their
own picture they wanted
to reproduce and Spears
merely helped them as
needed.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Bobbie Kleng works on her background Thursday evening
during paint night at Desert Lanes in Hermiston.
Alia Munoz said it was
her second paint night she
had attended.
“It’s just relaxing,” she
said. “It’s something fun
to do with my mom and
grandma, and it’s not some-
thing you would do every
day.”
She said she didn’t try to
worry too much about doing
everything exactly right, but
just had fun.
When the group was
arriving, Spears told the
newcomers that some peo-
ple were more abstract and
would fi nish sooner and oth-
ers were more meticulous
about trying to recreate the
painting exactly.
“It’s your painting,” she
said. “It’s not going to look
like mine and it’s not going
to look like Tom’s.”
Tom Daulton and his
wife Carol Daulton both
chose to paint the sunfl ow-
ers. They each worked on
their own canvas, but shared
tips back and forth. Tom
said it was his fourth time at
one of Spears’ paint parties.
“I don’t count last time,”
he joked. “Last time was a
disaster.”
He said when Carol
wanted him to come to one
he was curious to see if he
PAINTING PARTY
Kathy Spears is hosting
a paint party fundraiser
for the Stokes Landing
Senior Center in Irrigon
on June 14. The fundrais-
er begins with dinner at
6 p.m. at the senior cen-
ter, followed by painting.
For other paint party
dates visit the “It’s a Paint
Party!” Facebook page or
contact Spears at Kathy-
spears3@gmail.com.
was “expressive that way”
and found himself enjoy-
ing it so much he kept com-
ing back to learn new tech-
niques. A previous week,
for example, they learned
how to use Q-tips as small
daubers to create a picture
of lilacs.
Carol said they are “run-
ning out of wall space” at
home and will have to start
rotating which of their paint-
ings they display. Originally
she started coming to paint
nights because she had done
some painting many years
ago and thought it would be
fun to try again.
“I’m so glad I did because
it gives us something to do
together,” she said.