Thousands of gallons of garbage runoff dumped into Peoria creeks after landfill break-in

(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)

Thousands of gallons of landfill runoff have been leaked into Peoria creeks and drainage areas, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department, which has opened an investigation into what appears to be a break-in at a Peoria landfill.

Sometime between April 9 and April 11 a suspect or suspects are believed to have gained access to a Peoria landfill at 4249 W. Southport Road by knocking down a chain-link fence. After gaining entry, they turned on two drainage valves that released thousands of gallons of garbage runoff into nearby creeks and drainage areas, according to police.

Peoria Sheriff Chris Watkins told the Journal Star they do not yet have any suspect information and said there were no cameras set up in the area where the vandalism occurred.

Landfill employees turned off the valves as soon as they noticed they were running.

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A landfill supervisor told police that the suspect or suspects are believed to have accessed the site on an ATV because an access road leading to site is blocked by a vehicle barricade.

A nearby property owner told landfill staff he had his deer stand broken into and three chairs stolen. The supervisor told police that two of the chairs were located on landfill property “with one chair being located at the top of a hill overlooking the two drainage valves.”

The Peoria Sherrif’s Department reported the incident to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

The Journal Star has reached out to the IEPA for comment on the investigation.

The vandalism at the Peoria landfill happened just days after the Peoria City Council approved a new garbage hauling contract with GFL Environmental.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Thousands of gallons of Peoria landfill runoff leaked after break-in