Recommended
Lighting Practices

A Collaborative Effort To Preserve
West Texas’ Dark Night Skies

Recommended Lighting Practices

1Introduction
Located atop Mount Locke and Mount Fowlkes in Fort
Davis, Texas and under some of the darkest night skiesin the continental United States, sits the 500-acre worldrenowned University of Texas at Austin’s McDonaldObservatory. The Observatory’s mission is to inform,educate, and inspire through their public programs,
and support the teaching of the science and hobby ofastronomy.
Through a campaign of education and awareness, theMcDonald Observatory’s Dark Skies Initiative seeks
to protect the beautiful, Milky Way-filled night skiesof West Texas for ongoing astronomical research andeducation.

The following Recommended Lighting Practices area result of collaboration between several partnerorganizations. These organizations strongly support theMcDonald Observatory’s mission.
The recommendations in this document are designed
for oil and gas operations in the following Texas
counties that have lighting ordinances: Brewster,Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, andReeves. While these counties surround the McDonald
Observatory, the recommendations are equally
beneficial across the industry.
The McDonald Observatory and all of our partners
thank you for following the Recommended Lighting
Practices and for helping to keep the night skies of West
Texas dark.

Partners

Mike Sommers
American Petroleum
InstitutePresident and CEO

Bill Wren
McDonald Observatory
Special Assistant to theSuperintendent

Ben Shepperd
Permian Basin Petroleum
AssociationPresident

Ed Longanecker
Texas Independent
Producers and Royalty
Owners Association
President

Todd Staples
Texas Oil & Gas
AssociationPresident

Mark Houser
University Lands
CEOJoni Carswell
Texan by Nature
CEO and President

Table of Contents
1. Prepare a Lighting Plan..................................................................................................................... 4
2. Use Audiovisual Warning System (AVWS) Technology forHazard Lighting on Structures Taller than 200 feet......................................................................... 5
3. Use Full Cutoff Luminaires................................................................................................................ 5
4. Direct Lights Properly to Eliminate Light Spill and Trespass.......................................................... 6
5. Use Amber Instead of Bluish-White Lighting.................................................................................. 7
6. Minimize Lighting Usage During Construction and Operations.................................................... 8
7. Use Vehicle-Mounted Lights or Portable Light Towers
for Nighttime Maintenance Activities.............................................................................................. 98. Options if the Need to Flare Arises.................................................................................................10

Much of the language herein was adopted from a Bureau of Land Management Document, “Best ManagementPractices for Reducing Visual Impacts of Renewable Energy Facilities on BLM-Administered Lands” (BLM/WY/PL13/013+1340). Pictured above: Apache Corporation Tank Battery with dark skies friendly lighting installed.

1. Prepare a Lighting PlanProject Phase: Siting and Design
It is recommended that a lighting plan be prepared documenting how lighting will be
designed and installed to minimize night-sky impacts and impacts on nocturnal wildlife during
construction and operations. The lighting plan should specify the following:
1. Number of lights and lumen output of
each
Minimum number of lights and the lowest
luminosity consistent with safe andsecure operation of the facility;
2. Alternatives to lighting
Retro-reflective or luminescent markers inlieu of permanent lighting where feasible;
3. Fixture design
Lights of the proper design, shielded toeliminate up-light, placed and directed toeliminate light spill and trespass to offsite
locations;

4. Lamp color temperatureLights of the proper color to minimizenight-sky impacts;
5. Standard operating procedures
Minimization of unnecessary lighting
use through alternatives to permanent
lighting, such as restricting lighting usage
to certain time periods;
6. Any activities that may be restricted to
avoid night-sky impacts;
7. A process for promptly addressing andmitigating complaints about potential
lighting impacts.

Limitations: Safety and security must be considered in developing a lighting plan for facilities
and access roads. The FAA, OSHA, and other agencies may have regulations governing lighting
practices that must be considered in designing facility lighting.

Recommended Lighting Practices

42. Use Audiovisual Warning System(AVWS) Technology for Hazard Lighting
on Structures Taller than 200 feet
Project Phase: Siting and Design
If the FAA approves AVWS technology for general use, it should be used for structures exceeding
200 feet in height. If the FAA denies a permit for use of this technology, the project developer
should limit the amount of lighting to the minimum required by the FAA, in order to minimize
visibility beyond that required to meet safety requirements.

3. Use Full Cutoff Luminaires
Project Phase: Siting and Design
Except as required to meet the minimum
safety and security requirements (e.g.,collision markers required by the FAA,
or other emergency lighting triggeredby alarms), it is recommended that all
permanent lighting use full cutoff luminaires,
which are fully shielded (i.e., not emitting
direct or indirect light above an imaginary
horizontal plane passing through the lowest
part of the light source).

Full Cutoff

It is also recommended that all permanent
lighting meet the Illuminating EngineeringSociety (IES) glare requirement limiting
intensity of light from the luminaire in theregion between 80° and 90° from the ground.
It is further recommended that all fixtures bemounted properly, at the proper angle.

Recommended Lighting Practices

54. Direct Lights Properly to Eliminate Light
Spill and Trespass
Project Phase: Siting and Design, Construction
Construction and permanent lighting should be mounted and directed to focus light only on
the intended area, and to avoid light spill and offsite light trespass. Lights pointing upward or
horizontally should be avoided.
Limitations: Safety or functional considerations may dictate lighting practices that result in somelight spill or light trespass.

Before & After — Triple Crown Gas Plant

Wittenbach/WrenCimarex/Chevron/McDonald Observatory

Recommended Lighting Practices

65. Use Amber Instead of Bluish-WhiteLighting
Project Phase: Siting and Design
When accurate color rendition is not
required (e.g., roadway, basic security), it
is recommended that lighting be amber incolor, using either low-pressure sodium
lamps or yellow LED lighting, or anequivalent, with LED lighting being preferredover sodium.

When white light is required for accurate
color rendition, it should be less than orequal to 3500°, and preferably below 3000°
Kelvin color temperature (warm-white).
Bluish-white lighting should not be used inpermanent outdoor lighting.

Limitations: Safety and security must be considered in designing and using lighting, including
the coloring of that lighting. Further of note, lighting that is amber or warm-white in color
sometimes requires a special order from lighting manufacturers.

Cool White
6000K - 7000K

Recommended Lighting Practices



Day White
5000K - 5500K

Natural White
4000K - 4500K

Warm White2700K - 3500K

76. Minimize Lighting Usage During
Construction and Operations
Project Phase: Construction, Operations
Consistent with safety requirements, lighting
use should be minimized during construction
and operations.
During construction, localized and portable
lighting should be used where and when
the work is occurring. Lighting should
be powered by generators or electrical
distribution when available and haveswitches to cut power when lighting is not
required during construction.
Lighting for facilities should not exceed theminimum number, intensity, and coverage
required for safety and basic security. All area
lighting should be divided into separately
controlled zones to focus lighting on smallerareas where tasks are being performed andto avoid illuminating unused space.

Area lighting should be controlled by timers,sensors, or switches available to facility
operators; dusk-to-dawn lighting controlledby photocell alone should not be allowed
except where required for safety. The facility
operators should identify those components/
structures that do not require continuous
lighting for safety reasons.
Area lights should only be switched onwhen there is a specific need (e.g., persons
occupying an area, or alarm situation). When
not needed, lights should be switched off.
Exceptions to switched-off lighting for safety
purposes should be articulated in the lighting
plan.
Focused task lighting, portable light towers,
or flashlights should be used instead of area
lighting, and retro-reflective or luminescentmarkers should be used in lieu of permanent
lighting where feasible.

Limitations: Safety and security must be considered in designing and using lighting. The FAA,
OSHA, and other agencies may have regulations governing lighting practices that must be
considered in designing facility lighting and regulating lighting usage.

Recommended Lighting Practices

87. Use Vehicle-Mounted Lights or Portable
Light Towers for Nighttime Maintenance
Activities
Project Phase: Operations
Vehicle-mounted lights or portable light
towers are preferred over permanently
mounted lighting for nighttime maintenanceactivities.

If possible, such lighting should be equippedwith hoods or louvers and be aimed toward
the ground to avoid causing glare and sky
glow.

Portable Light Towers — Mount High, Aim LowWorseBad

BetterWren/McDonald Observatory

Limitations: Use of vehicle lighting must be consistent with safety requirements. Somemaintenance activities may have lighting requirements that make vehicle-mounted lighting
impractical.
Recommended Lighting Practices

98. Options if the Need to Flare Arises
Project Phase: Operations
Limiting light emitted by flaring is an elementthat could have a significant positive impact
on fugitive lighting, and have a fairly minor
commercial impact on operations. Thus,
it is recommended that locations with acontinuous or near-continuous flare consider
utilizing an enclosed combustor or similar
technology rather than an open flare, wheretechnically and commercially viable. While
the top of an enclosed combustor is open,
the light emitted from a combustor versus anopen flare is dramatically less.

Example of enclosed combustor

Limitations: Safety and security must be
considered in designing and using anenclosed combustor. The EPA, Railroad
Commission of Texas and other agencies
may have regulations governing practices
that must be considered in utilizing anenclosed combustor.

Recommended Lighting Practices

10