Law enforcement officials are investigating whether a landowner is improperly filling in wetlands near where Griffith, Schererville and Merrillville meet.

Lake County Surveyor George Van Til said Friday the Army Corps of Engineers and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are among the agencies who likely will get involved in reviewing the incident and remediating the damage.

His office learned early Friday of a trucking firm dumping soil, sand and concrete in open fields northwest of Broad Street and James Road.

It was unclear Friday how long the dumping has gone on.

Rob Guetzloff, a water quality specialist for the county, said code enforcement officers for both Schererville and Griffith have been monitoring the area.

Guetzloff said he visited the site and found dirt and stone piled on the land and an idle bulldozer that apparently was being used to level the fill. He said it may have come from the Dan Ryan reconstruction project in Chicago.

The field in unincorporated St. John Township is within the flood plain of Turkey Creek, which drains east through Merrillville and Hobart.

"There is no question its wetlands. Its dry now because of the fill," Van Til said.

Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez said Friday his Environmental Law Enforcement Task Force and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management looked into the incident earlier this week and determined there was no hazardous material in the fill.

Van Til said this could become a severe environmental problem nevertheless because degraded wetland cannot purify water and floodwaters "may now end up in your basement."

He said he expects the state and federal government to initiate civil proceedings against the trucking firm, and possibly the landowner, to remove the fill or face fines.

"Judging from the magnitude of this, it was not a mistake. It isn't the case of someone sneaking a truckload onto someone's property. They will have to restore it," Van Til said.