14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 12, 2015
Polk County Education
ACADEMIC HON ORS
Local students excel at Western
Itemizer-Observer file
The DeVolder Family Science Center, which opened in 2013, was one of the facilities inspected by DEQ.
DEQ fines Western Oregon University
for hazardous waste storage, disposal
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Western
Oregon University faced
$12,000 in fines after failing
to pass an inspection by the
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality in December
2014.
Hazardous waste inspec-
tor Susan Shewczyk said
WOU had been considered a
conditionally exempt gener-
ator, which means the cam-
pus generates less than 220
pounds of hazardous waste
in a month.
“When I got there and I
was looking at paperwork,
they had manifests indicat-
ing they were a large quanti-
ty generator in 2013, which
means there’s at least double
the amount of regulation
that is required,” she said.
“That in and of itself, they
would have had to dispose
of all their waste on site in 90
days.”
For 2014, Western would
have been considered a
small quantity generator,
still not the conditional ex-
empt generator they were
registered as, Shewczyk said.
“There are a set of regula-
tions that are totally differ-
ent,” she noted. “They were
not qualifying with small
quantity generator manage-
ment requirements.”
Shewczyk said she found
issues with storage and la-
beling of hazardous waste
while inspecting the cam-
pus, as well.
Director of campus public
safety Rebecca Chiles said
some of the issues were a
matter of miscommunica-
tion about WOU’s generator
status at the time.
“That’s something that
we’re trying to get cleared
up,” she said. “The main
focus is we fixed every single
thing that they found. We
fixed it right away. Most of
the issues were caused be-
cause of some confusion
about what our generator
status is.”
Shewczyk said that the
DEQ requires monthly counts
on how much hazardous
waste is generated.
“If at any time they are
over 220 pounds, they are re-
quired to have all the docu-
mentation and labeling that
is necessary for a small
quantity generator,” she said.
Chiles said this was the
first onsite inspection WOU
has had in about eight years.
Shewczyk said facilities list-
ed as conditionally exempt
generators aren’t often in-
spected. Each year, a list is
generated on who will get
inspected. Last year, Western
was on the list, Shewczyk
said.
“I happened to arrive on
site and it was quite appar-
ent that they were a small
quantity generator,” she
said. “I went through it. They
were managing waste as a
conditionally exempt gener-
ator.”
Shewczyk said the 2013
stint as a large quantity gen-
erator of hazardous waste
was probably a one-time
event.
“This was from a cleanup
from the chemistry build-
ing,” she said. “It just kicked
them immediately into LQG.
It kind of surprised them.”
However, a university
should know these things,
Shewczyk noted.
“Because they’re a univer-
sity, I expect a lot from
them,” she said. “It’s very no-
ticeable, and they have stu-
dents there.”
Chiles said the university is
looking to appeal the findings
based on the miscommuni-
cation about WOU’s status.
“We were doing the right
thing by reporting all of
that,” she said. “We’ve al-
ways been in constant con-
tact to make sure we’re
doing the right thing.”
MONMOUTH — Western Oregon University released its
honor roll and president’s list for the spring 2015 term on Aug.
5.
Students who earn a 4.0 grade-point average in a term are
placed on the president’s list, and those who earn a 3.5-3.99
GPA are listed in the honor roll. Local students are listed.
President’s list: (4.0 or higher)
Dallas: Anne Sophia Barrientos, Krysta Renee Miller, Brittany
Newman, Julie Ann Postma, Parker Neal Smith and Brandon
Michael Updike.
Independence: Zarrah Lynn Buitron, Jessica Kennedy Jus-
tice, Elizabeth Madera-Solis, Lori Jean Peterson and Raina Kae
Smith.
Monmouth: Dillon Michael Blinn, Jeff Aaron Collet and
James Martin Masnov.
Willamina: Stephanie Marie Delker.
Honor roll: (3.5-3.99)
Dallas: Bethany Blancher, Grant Michael Bollman, Tyler
Theodore Brumfield, Serena D. Chiellini, Emily DuMond, Brit-
neigh Gaetz, Melissa Garcia, Jill K. Gentry, Colby B. Kinkade,
Elizabeth Ann Kowash, Kyle Jeffrey Kuust, Anna Christine Mar-
kee, Joanne M. Mayberry, Maria Mei-Li McCarthy, Jessica
Reimer, Megan Raschel Reynolds, Jordan Allen Schrock, Nickie
Ann Sickles, Hannah A. Smith, Shawn Michael Thornhill, Tyler
Damon Wolfe, Emily N. Wright and Joel T. Yost.
Falls City: Jonathan Michael Kain.
Independence: Kevin Salvador Alejandrez, Anne Butler, Jef-
fery Wayne Clinton, Veronica Estrada, Celene Garcia-Murillo,
Isaac Cory Golden, Anusha Brittany Hoda, Ethan Nathaniel
Keen, Ambre Jean McKee, Tiffany Powers, Margaret Ann Smith
and Joshua Immanuel Thornton.
Monmouth: Thomas Leif Anderson, Kathleen Marie Biggs,
Nicola Marie Farrington, Elaina Joy Glasscock, Erin M. Hoffman,
Colton Seth Johnson, Megan Elizabeth Johnson, Michael
Matthew Jones, Molly Christine Keizur, Erin Mathews, Hugh A.
McElhone, D'Kota Wayne Milburn, Joshua Darrell Patterson,
Jesse Benjamin Pratt, Mykel Jeffree Presler, Tori Ann Stutzman,
Jesse Samuel Sutter, Arrianne M. Wadsworth and Emily Ruth
Watson.
Willamina: Ashley Rose Eddings.
Monmouth man earns top marks
FRONT ROYAL, Va. — Lucas Costa, of Monmouth, has been
named to the Randolph-Mason Academy’s president’s list for
the fourth quarter of the 2014-15 school year.
To be named to the list, a student must earn a grade-point
average of 4.0 or higher.
Costa is the son of Cinthia Costa Jones, of Monmouth, and
Alexandre Costa, of Curitiba, Brazil.
PCRW awards three scholarships
POLK COUNTY — Polk County Republican Women present-
ed three scholarships to the winners of its essay contest analyz-
ing the movie “Iron Jawed Maidens,” about the fight to pass the
19th Amendment.
Hannah Skyberg of Willamina received $1,250; Lyric Spivey
of Grand Ronde received $1,000; and Alexandria Nave of Dallas
received $750. The program was established in 2012 to com-
memorate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the amend-
ment, which granted women the right to vote.
The contest is open to any female senior graduating from a
Polk County school who has plans to pursue post-high school
education.
For more information: 503-623-2764.
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