Probe continues into chemical dumping in S. Elgin creek
Ben Culos spent part of Saturday afternoon watching carp swim and spawn in a creek near his South Elgin home.
What he didn't expect to see were big white suds that resembled soapwater - some several feet tall - floating down the creek toward the Fox River.
"It's a mess. It's a sickening mess," he said Monday as crews worked to clean up the chemicals that killed at least 30 fish, most of them carp.
Culos alerted authorities, who traced the bubbles to a South Elgin industrial park.
Two men were detained Saturday after they were seen pouring chemicals into a storm drain at 670 Sundown Road, South Elgin Police Chief Chris Merritt said.
The chemicals flowed from the drain into a tributary creek near Tequila's restaurant, 1101 N. La Fox St., near the Fox River, officials said.
The South Elgin Fire Protection District responded and put a boom at the edge of the creek to contain the chemicals, which came from 55-gallon drums labeled as primarily containing sulfuric acid, butyl acid phosphate and alkyl sulphonic acid, Fire Chief Joe Cluchey said.
The nature of the chemicals triggered involvement by an alphabet stew of other agencies, including the Kane County Office of Emergency Management, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the USEPA and Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Merritt said two men were questioned and released. No criminal charges have been filed yet and IDNR will decide whether any charges are filed, Merritt said.
"The incident is still under investigation by the (Illinois) Conservation Police," said IDNR spokeswoman Januari Smith. "No charges have been filed just yet."
Neal Serdar, a captain with the Illinois Conservation Police District 2, which operates under the umbrella of the IDNR, said a Wheeling-based firm, SET Environmental, has been hired to do the clean up.
The company should be done cleaning the creek by Tuesday and results of water tests should be in by Wednesday to determine exactly what chemicals were in the creek, Serdar said.
Officials at SET declined to comment Monday.
Cluchey said he believes fire officials were able to contain most of the chemicals and that Culos's fast response helped prevent the chemicals from making their way down the river in large quantities.
"We try to isolate, identify it and keep it from going anywhere else," Cluchey said. "I believe (Culos's) vigilance and him calling right away helped limit the extent of the damage.
"It seems every six months to a year we're chasing something someone has poured down a sewer," Cluchey said. "This is not an everyday occurrence."