BY JACQUELINE LEE
News-Democrat
Five men are accused of illegally burning and dumping debris after authorities took environmental crime prevention to new heights in St. Clair County.
The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department's Environmental Specialist Unit and the Illinois State Police Air Operations teamed up July 26 to fly a plane over the county to spot open dumping, open burning and air pollution violations.
"It's an easy way of spotting illegal burning and dumping," said Capt. Steven Johnson of the Sheriff's Department. "In the air, you can see it for miles. When you're on the ground, it's harder to figure out where the smoke is coming from. Open dumping is significantly easier to see from the air."
Johnson said Sheriff Mearl J. Justus came up with the idea of teaming up with the Illinois State Police, who own the plane, because the department has received complaints from residents on a regular basis.
The operation did not require additional funding by either department because it was operated by deputies who were scheduled to be on-duty and the plane would have been used by ISP anyway.
The departments plan on using this tactic in the future. Johnson said the most important thing is for residents to learn that they need to dispose of toxic items properly.
"Some of them were unaware that some of the things they were burning, they could not burn," Johnson said. "Some of them were in remote areas and were shocked that we discovered them."
Anthony D. Fry, 51, of Keyesport -- who was given three citations for open dumping, open burning and air pollution at a property in Cahokia -- said he was surprised when deputies showed up at 2302 Renois Lane.
"We didn't really think we were committing a crime," said Fry, who told officers he recently bought the property from a friend who had collected the debris.
Fry said he was doing his best to clean the property, and asked deputies: "I said, 'Can you give me a warning?' and they said, 'No, there's a no-tolerance policy.'"
Deputies saw black smoke coming from building materials, plastics, mattresses, vinyl siding and household waste.
Other persons charged include:
• Herb Endrijaitis, 76, of Belleville, was issued an open dumping citation for throwing away a large pile of debris -- including burnt mattresses, a plastic swimming pool and miscellaneous trash -- in Centreville.
• Daniel H. Wiskamp, 54, of Smithton, was cited for open dumping, open burning and air pollution when deputies saw black smoke coming from treated lumber, telephone poles, plastics and metal products.
• Patrick Erwin, 42, of New Athens, was cited for open burning and air pollution when deputies saw black smoke coming from a demolished building that consisted of treated wood and plastic. The area was 12 feet by 25 feet.
• Broderick J. Srogus, 29, of Smithton, was issued an open dumping citation for throwing away a pile of debris that consisted of painted siding, other assorted painted and varnished lumber. The pile was 20 feet in diameter and 12 feet in height.
All of the cases are pending.
Contact reporter Jacqueline Lee at jlee@bnd.com or 239-2655.






