Plainfield farmer says construction debris was used to prevent flooding

PLAINFIELD – A Plainfield farmer recently in the news for allegations of illegal dumping said he was able to save farmland from erosion with construction and metal debris dropped along a DuPage River bank.

Records show the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has been inspecting the site for 14 years. The Army Corps of Engineers received complaints as far back as 1998. But authorities only moved to stop the dumping after a TV news report in November.

Herman Fritz said he had a good reason for allowing construction waste to be brought to the bank of the DuPage River bordering his farm.

“I did it to save the farm,” said Fritz, 78.

Fritz said the debris was used to prevent floods from sweeping away his land. He also said he burned tree branches and other waste that was deposited on his land in flooding over the past several decades.

Documents from several inspections, which were done by county officials on behalf of the IEPA, during the past 14 years detail several violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.

When a CBS Channel 2 report on the alleged dumping of construction, garbage and other waste aired Nov. 20, authorities moved quickly to stop it. On the same day, Will County State's Attorney officials filed an emergency injunction to stop Fritz from dumping or allowing anyone else to dump waste along the DuPage River.

The Will County Land Use Department conducted an inspection on the farm for the state EPA on Dec. 5. And the state's attorney's office is considering criminal charges as the injunction remains in place.

Fritz said he has stopped dumping anything on the riverbank and won’t dump in the future.

“I’m absolutely done with it,” he said.

Saving the farm

Fritz said he saved his land over the years by building up the river bank.

He said he has been dumping construction materials and metal wastes along the river for the past 60 years to shore up the bank and prevent the river’s flooding from wiping out the farm.

The farm is located across the river from the Joliet Park District’s Wedgewood Golf Course, west of Route 59.

Fritz talked about a flood in 1954, which, he said, destroyed crops on his family farm and swept land into the river. Dirt and sandbags placed along the bank were swept out and didn’t stop the river from breaking apart the land as flood waters receded.

So Fritz said he started dumping heavy construction waste, such as cement slabs and twisted metal beams, along the bank to reinforce flood control measures already in place.

During the next six decades, Fritz said, he continued shoring up the bank on his side of the river. He said he also dumped some of his own items, such as bed springs and old scrap metal. He said he allowed a construction company to dump waste along the bank for a fee.

Fritz estimates that he saved seven to nine acres of farm land over the years by shoring up the bank.

During a tour of the farm Fritz gave to The Herald-News, he highlighted where the west riverbank was 4 to 5 feet higher than the ground level. Over the years, he built up the bank, starting at the western edge and moving downstream to the southern border of the farm until he was forced to stop in November.

He also showed examples along the bank of how the river has widened and taken out farm land and old trees.

“I used to play on the other side of the trees,” he said. “Now it’s all the river. I can’t even go there no more.”

Along the riverbank, landfill waste such as plastic bags and garbage can be seen buried underneath piles of dirt, gravel and cement waste. But Fritz denied dumping garbage along the DuPage River, saying he only dumped heavy construction waste.

Inspection history

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency records show that seven inspections were conducted on the farm since 2001 by the Will County Land Use Department, which conducts inspections for the state agency.

The records don’t include the latest inspection on Dec. 5, which is a part of the state’s attorney’s investigation.

In six of those inspections, investigators discovered 10 or more violations relating to land and water pollution, open dumping and burning and failure to operate a proper landfill.

The first inspection occurred on May 1, 2001, when 10 violations were documented. After a cease and desist letter was sent to Fritz, a follow up inspection on Nov. 19, 2001, concluded that Fritz had complied with the order and cleaned up the farm.

However, in five inspections dating June 12 and Oct. 20 in 2008, June 23 and Aug. 20 in 2013, and Nov. 14, 2014, 13 to 15 violations were found in each inspection.

Several cease and desist letters weren’t answered by Fritz during that time period.

“I wasn’t ever fined,” Fritz said, adding that he understood that the IEPA had ordered him to stop dumping in the past, but he didn’t because the bank was working to save his farm from floods.

However, after the state’s attorney issued the injunction against him, he decided to stop.

Fritz said that he was working to respond to another cease and desist letter dated Dec. 5 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers relating to the case, stating that a Dec. 2 investigation from the organization revealed there was “a discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.”

Army Corps spokeswoman Lynne Whelan said the agency received a response from Fritz’s lawyer, Randall Miller, but would not discuss it. Miller could not be reached for comment.

Whelan said the Army Corps investigated complaints concerning possible Du Page river pollution at Fritz’s Farm in 2008 and 2014. The agency also received complaints in 1998 and 2012 regarding dumping on the bank, but did not investigate those because the Army Corps jurisdiction is limited to the river.

Fritz’s next scheduled court date for case management is Feb. 18.