Disagreements over compensation from last April’s fish kill in the Kishwaukee River following a farm accident have left the Environmental Protection Agency and Lincoln Land Hog Farm owner Charlie Schelkopf at a standstill.

“No agreement has been reached between the EPA and Mr. Schelkopf, therefore we are referring the case to the attorney general’s office,” Tom Davis, attorney for the EPA, said. “They (the attorney general’s office) will take over from here.”

The fish kill occurred when pig manure accidently spilled into the river while work was being done on a lagoon in which the level of manure was too high, Davis said. “They should not have been working on the lagoon with the level that high,” he added. “A berm (land barrier) was broke which caused the manure to spill.

“The Department of Conservation has concluded more than 74,000 fish, valued at more than $14,000, were killed in the accident,” Davis said. “A stretch of stream 32.7 miles long was also damaged. The department of conservation referred to the accident as ‘a total fish kill.'”

The Kishwaukee River has recovered recently, Davis added. “And luckily, they waited to restock the river. They were planning on restocking it before the accident happened.”

The EPA is requesting the owner of the farm involved to pay for the cost of the fish and to pay an additional penalty. However, the amounts of compensation have not been settled yet.

“Since it was an accident, all our agency can do is warn the person (farmowner) not to let anything like this happen again. There is no real solution except to require the person to pay for damages and to pay a fine,” Davis said. “I cannot divulge the amount of the fine.

“To accelerate the process (of compensation settlement), we have sent it to the chief law office in Illinois, where they will decide whether to prosecute the case or not. If they decide to prosecute the case, they can file a complaint in DeKalb or with the Pollution Control Board.”

Once the request from the EPA is received in Springfield, the review process will begin.

Phil Mueller, a representative from the attorney general’s office said, “We will conduct an independent investigation apart from the institutions already involved, and we will then decide whether to prosecute the case or not. If we have enough information, the case will end up in court.”