Oregon's representative at depot resigns

This story was published Fri, Nov 1, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON -- For the past five years, Wayne Thomas has been the monkey riding the Army's back.

As the program manager for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, it was up to Thomas to ensure the Army followed state rules for storage and destruction of the deadly chemical weapons stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, 30 miles south of the Tri-Cities.

On Thursday, Thomas announced he is resigning to move with his wife, Beth Kochur, to Atlanta. The Kennewick residents will make the move in December.

His departure comes at a critical time as the Army completes preparations to begin burning chemical weapons in
a massive incinerator on the site
near Hermiston next year.

"This has been a gut-wrenching decision for me," Thomas said. "I really know the importance of what we do here. The responsibility to do this right is so ingrained in me."

E-mail messages and phone calls from throughout the state poured into Thomas' office throughout the day.

"I slept better at night knowing you were there watching over the depot," one colleague wrote.

"Wayne exemplifies the highest kind of selfless public service," said Chris Dearth, the governor's environmental project director. "Wayne has served Oregon exceedingly well by holding the Army accountable to Oregon's very high standards of environmental protection. We'll miss him."

Umatilla and Morrow county officials echoed those sentiments.

"It's a helluva loss," said Bob Flournoy, an Irrigon resident and chairman of the Citizens Advisory Commission for the project.

"It's not an easy job to sit there and say 'No' to the United States government, to the Army, but that's what Wayne did. He had the tenacity to make them stick to the permit," Flournoy said.

It was under Thomas' scrutiny that the Army received a permit to burn the thousands of tons of munitions stored at Umatilla. But he's also the one who shut the Army's test burns down in September after it was discovered that emissions levels for the incinerator exceeded regulatory limits for toxic metals.

Thomas also issued a citation when a lab worker accidentally took a vial of diluted sarin agent across the state border into Kennewick this summer. A fine for the violation is under review, he said.

Dennis Doherty, a Umatilla County commissioner and chairman of the governor's oversight board for the project, said losing Thomas "creates a big hole."

"This is not good news for Oregon's Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, and it's not good news for the citizens of Umatilla and Morrow counties," Doherty said.

Army officials said they respect the job Thomas has done.

"For me, one of the things that stands out is his commitment to ensuring public safety," said Mary Binder, Army spokeswoman.

She said Thomas made the state regulatory agency accessible to the public. Before he arrived, the program was managed by technicians from Bend and Portland.

Karyn Jones, a member of GASP, one of the three anti-incineration groups embroiled in a lawsuit against the state over the burn permit, said she also will miss Thomas. "Wayne and I often disagree at meetings, but I've really come to respect him and consider him a friend," she said.

A quote by Winston Churchill is on a wall in Thomas' office. It reads: "Never give in, never, never, never give in, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in, except for conscience or honor and good sense."

Thomas said he's confident that as he leaves the staff he's built will remain steadfast to the job.

"The DEQ program will continue to do exactly what we've been doing, holding the Army's feet to the fire in order to protect the public and the environment. We're the German shepherd that bites the Army in the butt," he said.

 

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