Three barrels of used car oil dumped illegally on a long-barricaded road in Gary threatened to pollute a Little Calumet River tributary Friday.
The Gary Sanitary District contacted the city’s Environmental Affairs Department on Friday about the barrels, one of which was leaking a caustic brown sludge in the 3400 block of Chase Street. The department then contacted the Lake County Solid Management District to investigate, solid waste specialist Leonard White said.
White said the barrels appeared to have been at the site a short time, perhaps 15 hours or so. The leak, however, was close to a Little Calumet River tributary.
“If this stays out here and it gets into the tributary, we have about four hours before it gets into the Little Cal. Then we’ll have real problems,” White said.
White called the Gary Fire Department, which then called the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to dispose of the barrels. Gary Fire Battalion Chief James Delgado shook his head at the moved jersey blocks and the barrels’ placement next to the illegal dumping sign.
“People like to dump furniture, tires, TVs, and they’re really determined to get stuff out here,” Delgado said.
White said the dumping is a continuation of habits that have been ingrained in people for years.
“The city needs to limit access to this road to only small vehicles. It should not have other access,” White said. “We had (illegal dumping) tamped down for a while, but now it’s kicked up again. The city needs to start enforcing and monitoring again.”
Although that doesn’t necessarily help either, he said.
“I’ve seen officers out here all the time, but it’s so dark out here,” White said.
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Quinn is a freelance reporter.