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Herriges property. Taken February 14, 2008.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is investigating the illegal dumping and burning of demolition waste produced when an old dormitory was razed at the Wolf Creek Job Corps Center outside Glide.
Several truckloads of waste from the 2,000-square-foot building were dumped onto rural property at 498 Uphill Lane. The activity came to the attention of authorities through an anonymous tip to Wayne Bates, an environmental inspection specialist for the Douglas County Planning Department.
The owner of the property, Daniel Herriges, gave Bates permission to visit the site. During his visit on Feb. 22, he found a burn pile and discovered items that could be legally dumped and waste that should have been disposed of at a landfill.
“It appears someone burned something they shouldn’t have, and we’re trying to make sure it’s disposed of properly,” Bates said.
Twisted sheets of metal, water pipes, electrical boxes and copper wire, along with drywall, insulation and an old tire, are visible in photographs taken Feb. 22 by Bates. Other photographs show large chunks of concrete and asphalt.
Under Oregon law, construction and demolition waste is considered a solid waste. It must be disposed of at a DEQ-permitted facility.
An exemption exists for so-called “clean fill” — solid concrete, asphalt, bricks, tile, building blocks and soil that does not contain contaminants that could foul groundwater, streams or public health. Those materials can be legally dumped on a property.
Bates contacted the DEQ, which enforces laws dealing with air quality issues and illegal landfills. An air quality specialist from Medford and a solid waste official from Eugene are scheduled to visit the site later this week.
Craig Filip, a DEQ solid waste reduction analyst from Eugene, said he would look for materials that should have been taken to the county landfill. He said he would also look for signs of whether any materials may have been buried on the property.
Bates said he did not see evidence that any digging had taken place in the places where demolition waste had been dumped and burned.
Anna Kemmerer, a DEQ air quality official, said whoever burned the material needed a permit. She said she would be examining whether the burn pile included materials that couldn’t be burned even with a permit, including plastic-coated copper wire.
R.E. Noah & Co. was the general contractor on the dormitory replacement project at the Job Corps. It subcontracted with Beckley Excavation and Utility Inc. to handle the demolition work and removal of the waste material.
Beckley then contracted with Timber Tipper Enterprises, a Roseburg company owned by Michael Reddekopp, to haul the waste away.
Both Russ Noah, president of R.E. Noah, and Ryan Beckley, president of Beckley Excavation, said they were not aware the demolition material had been dumped illegally or burned. They said they did not find out how it had been disposed until after the complaint was filed and Bates and the DEQ officials started making inquiries.
“They told us they would dispose of it in a legal manner and we didn’t have any reason to doubt them,” Beckley said.
Reddekopp said he used a single truck to deliver several loads of material to Herriges’ property. He said Beckley Excavation had three trucks taking demolition waste to the same location.
Reddekopp said he believed the materials had been sorted out and that everything dumped out at the property was clean fill.
“My understanding is that it was all separated out,” he said.
Herriges, who Bates and the DEQ officials said was cooperative with them, suffered a broken leg over the weekend and was unavailable for comment on how the demolition waste ended up on his property.
In January, Douglas County began charging contractors $60 a ton to dispose of construction and demolition waste at the county landfill. Previously, they had been allowed to haul that material to the dump for free.
Following its investigation, the DEQ will decide whether any penalties, including fines, will be handed out.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
Several truckloads of waste from the 2,000-square-foot building were dumped onto rural property at 498 Uphill Lane. The activity came to the attention of authorities through an anonymous tip to Wayne Bates, an environmental inspection specialist for the Douglas County Planning Department.
The owner of the property, Daniel Herriges, gave Bates permission to visit the site. During his visit on Feb. 22, he found a burn pile and discovered items that could be legally dumped and waste that should have been disposed of at a landfill.
“It appears someone burned something they shouldn’t have, and we’re trying to make sure it’s disposed of properly,” Bates said.
Twisted sheets of metal, water pipes, electrical boxes and copper wire, along with drywall, insulation and an old tire, are visible in photographs taken Feb. 22 by Bates. Other photographs show large chunks of concrete and asphalt.
Under Oregon law, construction and demolition waste is considered a solid waste. It must be disposed of at a DEQ-permitted facility.
An exemption exists for so-called “clean fill” — solid concrete, asphalt, bricks, tile, building blocks and soil that does not contain contaminants that could foul groundwater, streams or public health. Those materials can be legally dumped on a property.
Bates contacted the DEQ, which enforces laws dealing with air quality issues and illegal landfills. An air quality specialist from Medford and a solid waste official from Eugene are scheduled to visit the site later this week.
Craig Filip, a DEQ solid waste reduction analyst from Eugene, said he would look for materials that should have been taken to the county landfill. He said he would also look for signs of whether any materials may have been buried on the property.
Bates said he did not see evidence that any digging had taken place in the places where demolition waste had been dumped and burned.
Anna Kemmerer, a DEQ air quality official, said whoever burned the material needed a permit. She said she would be examining whether the burn pile included materials that couldn’t be burned even with a permit, including plastic-coated copper wire.
R.E. Noah & Co. was the general contractor on the dormitory replacement project at the Job Corps. It subcontracted with Beckley Excavation and Utility Inc. to handle the demolition work and removal of the waste material.
Beckley then contracted with Timber Tipper Enterprises, a Roseburg company owned by Michael Reddekopp, to haul the waste away.
Both Russ Noah, president of R.E. Noah, and Ryan Beckley, president of Beckley Excavation, said they were not aware the demolition material had been dumped illegally or burned. They said they did not find out how it had been disposed until after the complaint was filed and Bates and the DEQ officials started making inquiries.
“They told us they would dispose of it in a legal manner and we didn’t have any reason to doubt them,” Beckley said.
Reddekopp said he used a single truck to deliver several loads of material to Herriges’ property. He said Beckley Excavation had three trucks taking demolition waste to the same location.
Reddekopp said he believed the materials had been sorted out and that everything dumped out at the property was clean fill.
“My understanding is that it was all separated out,” he said.
Herriges, who Bates and the DEQ officials said was cooperative with them, suffered a broken leg over the weekend and was unavailable for comment on how the demolition waste ended up on his property.
In January, Douglas County began charging contractors $60 a ton to dispose of construction and demolition waste at the county landfill. Previously, they had been allowed to haul that material to the dump for free.
Following its investigation, the DEQ will decide whether any penalties, including fines, will be handed out.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
