Peru approves settlement worth about $180,000 with gravel company after alleged dumping, sewer break

The Peru City Council unanimously approved a settlement Monday that will release Mertel Gravel Co. from liability regarding an alleged cement dumping incident in exchange for the company providing the city concrete materials for the next three years.

The settlement resolves a dispute between Mertel and Peru where the city alleges dumping of cement by the gravel company contributed to a sewer break south of La Salle-Peru High School in September 2021. The city stands to gain roughly $180,000 from the settlement, according to Corporate Counsel Scott Schweickert.

Under the proposed resolution, for a period of three years, Mertel would supply 2,200 cubic yards of concrete and 2,200 tons of CA6 aggregate for the city engineer for parking lot and roadway purposes. Peru will get a 10% discount plus an additional $150,000 discount off the market price of those materials.

In return, Peru would release Mertel from all liability surrounding the dispute.

The alleged dumping contributing to a sewer break occurred in September 2021. Peru was alerted to a sewer overflow and notified the state EPA. The IEPA conducted an inspection and said the sewer break was because of a blockage unrelated to the company’s dumping in the area. The city confirmed the blockage caused the sewer break, but later discovered cement had flowed into the storm water box culvert and caused damage to the pipe and manhole, according to Schweickert.

Schweickert said the agreement was reached because the city had evidence, including video surveillance, of Mertel dumping cement in the area found to be a contributing factor to the sewer problem. Because the alleged dumping by Mertel was only a contributing factor, the city will gain part of the damages, an estimated $180,000, instead of the full $282,000 cost of damages.

Schweickert said the city and Mertel representatives discussed multiple possibilities to resolve the matter, including cash payment, insurance coverage, provision of free or discounted materials and the transfer of property.

One avenue of resolution involved a 50-acre property owned by Mertel within La Salle city limits east of Peru’s Menards.

Last week, La Salle Mayor Jeff Grove said Peru officials tried to annex these 50 acres of Mertel’s land from La Salle in exchange for covering the $282,000 in damages following a sewer break.

Grove said Peru told Mertel its cement dumping in a ravine south of La Salle-Peru High School contributed to a sewer break. Peru would not make Mertel pay for damages if the company de-annexed the 50-acre parcel of land into its city, Grove said.

Schweickert said the property was the subject of discussion at meetings between Mertel and the city. He said he did some research on properties owned by Mertel in the area, and when it was brought up, Schweickert said Mertel representatives told him about a specially-negotiated clause in Mertel’s contract with La Salle saying the property can be annexed from La Salle at any time without reason.

Mertel then met with La Salle and presented a petition to de-annex Aug. 4. Schweickert said La Salle officials “refused to move forward” on the petition for several weeks. When asked Monday about Schweickert’s comments, Grove told the NewsTribune city officials were taking time to process, ask questions about why the annexation was happening and pursue all legal options to prevent the de-annexation from occurring.

Schweickert said an offer was made to La Salle to involve the city in development plans for streets and pedestrian paths and the neighboring city refused to take part in those discussions. Grove said Monday that offer was not made in any of La Salle’s meetings with Peru and Mertel.

Mertel chose to withdraw the de-annexation paperwork Sept. 12, according to communications between Mertel and the city of La Salle attorneys.

After the de-annexation agreement was withdrawn, Peru and Mertel agreed on the current settlement.

The area south of La Salle-Peru High School where the dumping and sewer break occurred has a long history of being used as a dump and washout area for multiple entities, according to Schweickert. The police report from the incident said an eyewitness at the scene reported the area has been used as a cement dumping site since the 1980s.

Schweickert said Mertel fully cooperated and acknowledged its contributory role.

Mertel’s attorney Jonathan Brandt was present at Monday’s council meeting and said Mertel was not coerced by the city to de-annex land from La Salle, in response to a question from Alderman Jim Lukosus.

“My client may have been a small part of the damaged sewer line problem,” Brandt said. “Even though the IEPA concluded Mertel was not actually responsible, Mertel Gravel Co. wants to voluntarily be a big part of the solution all to the benefit of Peru parks and the entire Illinois Valley.”