Mayor of Rockdale Says No Illegal Dumping Of Waste But Will Work With IEPA Regarding Runoff Into I&M Canal

Rockdale Mayor Sam Wyke responds to a WJOL report regarding green liquid that found its way into the I&M Canal. Wyke says the village has contracted with a Porta Potty company to dump liquid waste into their sewer system. But also acknowledges they are working with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on a second issue where the liquid waste made its way into the I&M canal.

While the Porta Potty company was given permission to dump waste, the second issue is concerning. Mayor Wyke says;

“The complaint made to the IEPA was received by the Village with a request for an explanation, which has been provided to the IEPA. According to radio broadcast, the Village was first made aware of a new allegation that effluent was observed in the I & M Canal. To the extent that these two companies’ permitted discharge caused a blockage, back-up and overflow of effluent which made its way to the I & M Canal through a nearby stream, the Village is currently testing and investigating this new allegation and will work with the IEPA, which has confirmed its awareness of the issue, on a response as to remediation required by the Village or the two companies at issue.”

Full statement below from the Village of Rockdale and Mayor Sam Wyke:

In response to a WJOL on-air report and interview with a Joliet resident regarding alleged green sludge and improper waste dumping in the Village of Rockdale, the Village makes the following statement: 

The two events which the citizen described on-air are not only separate and distinct but are completely unrelated to each other. With respect to the observation of a Porta Potty company discharging the contents of a waste truck into the Village’s Sanitary Sewer System, that event did indeed occur with the Village’s knowledge and approval and was neither improper nor illegal. Due to a nearly $2 million improvement to the Village’s nearby Lift Station, the discharge, which typically occurs at the Lift Station site, was allowed at a location slightly upstream from the Lift Station and was made directly into the Village’s contained sanitary sewer system, where it then flowed downstream to the Lift Station and on to the City of Joliet’s treatment plant. 

The location depicted in the photos submitted by the citizen and posted to the WJOL website is not the location where the discharge occurred but is instead well upstream of that location and from the Lift Station. That area has been known to back-up due to discharge from two Rockdale businesses which have special discharge permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. When such back-ups occur, the Village contracts with a company to either remove material that is backing up and/or jetting the system to remove the blockage and allow the effluent to travel downstream to the Lift Station. The “semi” from another company which the citizen observed in this second location was not discharging into the sanitary sewer but was instead performing jetting work under contract with the Village to remove the blockage. 

The complaint made to the IEPA was received by the Village with a request for an explanation, which has been provided to the IEPA. According to radio broadcast, the Village was first made aware of a new allegation that effluent was observed in the I & M Canal. To the extent that these two companies’ permitted discharge caused a blockage, back–up and overflow of effluent which made its way to the I & M Canal through a nearby stream, the Village is currently testing and investigating this new allegation and will work with the IEPA, which has confirmed its awareness of the issue, on a response as to remediation required by the Village or the two companies at issue. 

The Village has reached out to the citizen who made the report and invited him to view the maps and other material regarding the issue.