Quarry owner sued over unpermitted dumping

A Carpentersville quarry and its owner could face $250,000 in fines for moving potentially hazardous waste from one unpermitted dump to another.

The Illinois attorney general's office and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently filed a lawsuit against Robert Pawelko Sr., arguing he accepted 11,000 cubic yards of crushed construction material at the Carpentersville Quarry, 800 Bolz Road.

The waste contains polynuclear aromatic compounds -- which are typical components of asphalt, fuels and grease -- lead, pyrene and other contaminants, all of which can be dangerous, according to the EPA.

"Unless carefully managed, the pulverized construction debris poses a threat to human health and the environment," argued Assistant Attorney General Rosemarie Caseau and chief of the Environmental Bureau in the lawsuit.

Messages left for Pawelko at the Carpentersville Quarry were not returned Friday.

The attorney general's office said Pawelko was cited in 1994 for an unpermitted waste disposal operation at 707-750 Richard Lane in Elk Grove Township called PF Materials.

In 2001, the lawsuit states, Pawelko, who was then PF president, agreed with the state to remove 45,000 cubic yards of construction waste from that site. From May 2006 and before, waste from PF was moved to the Carpenterville location and dumped in an area the size of more than three football fields.

The attorney general's office contends that five dumping violations occurred, each punishable by a $50,000 fine. The office also seeks a $10,000 fine per day per violation, attorney's fees and fees to pay experts to testify in court, presumably about the dangers the waste poses to air, soil and people.

Both sides are due Jan. 8 in court before Kane County Judge Michael Colwell.