By Tatsuya Hidano, junior

The result of an environmental review of the campus was better than expected, a Friends University official said. The University heard back from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 5 about the campus audit that took place in late October.

“Through the complete inventory we did, we were substantially under the permitting requirements,” Paul Winchester, director of the physical plant, said as he pointed to the EPA documentation the school received.

The school has 60 days to fix the remaining problems. The cost is expected to be less than $50,000, which is satisfactory, Winchester said. Some universities have paid millions in EPA fines.

Since 1994, the EPA has required all college and university campuses to be audited to enforce environmental regulations. Friends had its first audit last fall, when representatives from other schools in the region inspected the campus as directed by the EPA’s College Peer Audit Program.

The largest deficiency was an underground fuel tank behind the Davis Administration Building. The tank stored fuel as a backup energy source in the 1970s and ’80s but was no longer needed as the campus became more fuel-efficient. Workers dug out the tank earlier this week.

The other findings were smaller in size but added up to create a lengthy report, Winchester said.

Because the regulations concern any toxic or hazardous chemicals and waste materials, it caused quite a stir on campus.

Gary Branum, professor of chemistry, oversaw the inventory process of the William Penn Science Building all summer.

Before the inventory, chemicals in the science building were stored in alphabetical order. Many cabinets contained unknown substances and old, deteriorated chemicals.

“It was a massive undertaking,” Branum said as he recalled going through about 5,000 chemicals. “Now we have to make sure the chemicals are stored according to reactivity instead of alphabetical order.”

The chemistry department created a database to record its inventory.

“Now we know where everything is,” Branum said.

He pointed out the University now needs to adjust to a new operation system to minimize the chance of any chemical or waste material ending up in the environment.

The school also has 18 months to establish an internal audit program, the Environmental Management System. This program will prevent the school from repeating environmental problems.

Friends will also host the first training sessions for the new program in the spring for schools that belong to the Kansas Independent College Association.

“One thing I cannot stress enough is that everyone in that group and each faculty and staff member we’ve encountered through the process were absolutely great,” Winchester said as he showed the list of the school's Environmental Compliance Committee members, who had contributed to the establishment of policies, procedures and training issues for students, faculty and staff.

As the University works toward its long term compliance, Winchester sees a hint of the bright outcome.

“It’s been challenging,” Winchester said. “But it’s been rewarding on the same side to see this evolve and develop into a process that looks like it’s going to go well.”