# Lots of Cooking oil poured on my lawn



## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

So when I got home from work I see a bunch of oil has come out of the retaining wall. This wall separates my yard from the back neighbors yard that is higher than mine. There is holes in the wall and deep holes in the dirt on his side where the dirt has washed through. The grass was already semi dead there from a month ago he poured something down his hole. I have never seen this oil before so I looked over the fence and the neighbor had a gallon jug of what I think is cooking oil on the porch table. So I went over and knocked on the door and of course he denied doing anything at all. Then I went back and looked over the fence and the jug was gone, right away he grabbed the jug and brought it inside. 
So what to do now?


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

I want to close these holes in the wall somehow. Everytime it rains these rocks come out


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

I take it these are for drainage? So his yard drains into yours? You could always plug them up with water proof mortar/ grout. But who knows what that would cause. Maybe it'd flood him out! Or maybe the wall would fall over. 
Do it!!! :lol:


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

I would first try to contain the spill so it doesn't spread.

Then I would investigate what law was broken since he is determined to deny the whole thing ever happened like a child with chocolate frosting on his face denying that they ate the cake.

Closing the hole might not be legal. In my area, retaining walls are regulated.


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

rjw0283 said:


> I take it these are for drainage? So his yard drains into yours? You could always plug them up with water proof mortar/ grout. But who knows what that would cause. Maybe it'd flood him out! Or maybe the wall would fall over.
> Do it!!! :lol:


HAAA! That's exactly what I was thinking!! But then if the wall fell over, then... damn...


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## ag_fishing (Feb 3, 2021)

Yeah I'd venture to guess plugging up drainage is a big legal no go


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

How would that get to a legal issue? I dont see how it would get that far. I suppose " if " the wall fell over then someone would have to pay for it.


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

I put SLS on the oil to try to thin it. Hopefully that does something... 
I have a ton of SLS left over from when I used to make BLSC.


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## Theycallmemrr (May 16, 2019)

DeepC said:


> I put SLS on the oil to try to thin it. Hopefully that does something...
> I have a ton of SLS left over from when I used to make BLSC.


@DeepC 
What is BLSC?


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

Theycallmemrr said:


> DeepC said:
> 
> 
> > I put SLS on the oil to try to thin it. Hopefully that does something...
> ...


Best Lawn Soil Conditioner- SLS, yucca, and water, from the other forum. (Which I dont follow anymore), Morpheus used to explain how well it worked. I only used it a couple times so I dont know how effective it is. I have clay soil, and maybe it was @Spammage that said it was terrible for his clay soil so I said good enough for me and quit using it.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Folks here will tell ya that it's illegal to drain your water into someones yard.... so I'd plug it up with some spray foam. Next time he dumps the oil down the hole, it'll back up all over his yard.

When it comes out the next pipe, plug it up too.. After all, it's your wall I assume, on your property.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

DeepC said:


> Theycallmemrr said:
> 
> 
> > DeepC said:
> ...


What a memory. Yes, it's a surfactant made with SLS that helps with LDS, but the more I used, the more problematic my soil became.


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## bwhitaker (Apr 11, 2019)

So yeah, I would try to figure out if the drainage is regulated in some way. If not I would plug them, if it is, and the dude is poisoning your yard I would call the EPA and say you think they are dumping toxic chemicals on your yard, you don't know what it is, but it's oily and killing your grass. Since they've denied doing it you have no idea if it's cooking oil, or diesel fuel.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

DeepC said:


> Best Lawn Soil Conditioner- SLS, yucca, and water, from the other forum. (Which I dont follow anymore), Morpheus used to explain how well it worked. I only used it a couple times so I dont know how effective it is. I have clay soil, and maybe it was @Spammage that said it was terrible for his clay soil so I said good enough for me and quit using it.


Wow, it has been a while since I've seen that acronym. :lol:


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

I'll state the obvious up front - what type of person dumps cooking oil down a hole in their yard which leads directly onto the neighbor's lawn? This is the second post I've seen in a few weeks about shady neighbors dumping oil onto another's lawn. Odd.

As for the legal aspect, there are several potential issues: private nuisance, trespass, illegal discharge, and possibly some HOA violation. In reality, though, it seems like such a small amount that a verbal warning might be best.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Dig a new french drain, attach to "his" drain pipe, and route whatever it is he dumps down there somewhere else. All the other suggestions I have are best not put down in writing.


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

ag_fishing said:


> Yeah I'd venture to guess plugging up drainage is a big legal no go


I would think you have all the right in the world to prevent neighbors runoff from draining into your yard


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

So the big question is, Will plugging these holes in the wall cause it to fall? Or cause some other problem?


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## ZEM (Apr 20, 2020)

I would imagine the water will find a way out one way or another, like seepage through the mortar. I don't believe it would cause the wall to fail unless there are hurricane force winds that push the wooden fence over and ultimately take the stone with it.


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## libertynugget (May 19, 2018)

yeah, i would think plugging the drains would eventually take down the wall... if the water has nowhere to go, it will saturate the soil and eventually push the wall and make it unstable...

I like the french drain idea... to then route to a grease trap, to then a pump and a high pressure sprinkler to send the oil back...
Seems elaborate, but I'm devious and hate inconsiderate neighbors.


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

DeepC said:


> So the big question is, Will plugging these holes in the wall cause it to fall? Or cause some other problem?


If the wall is on your neighbor's property, you could potentially be liable for trespass if you plug the holes.

I don't know if it freezes in your area, but if so water sitting in a drain pipe will expand when frozen, possibly making even more problems if you plug it.

I'd think this thing through some more.


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

I dont know who's wall it is. It runs down behind every yard on my street. The row of houses behind my street is up a little higher. 
You can see he has tried to pour concrete or something down one of the holes on his side to block it up. But it appears he missed somehow.


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## ZEM (Apr 20, 2020)

This neighbor really enjoys putting stuff in his holes. (Pun intended)


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

This neighbor of yours sounds like a grade A dingleberry.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

libertynugget said:


> yeah, i would think plugging the drains would eventually take down the wall... if the water has nowhere to go, it will saturate the soil and eventually push the wall and make it unstable...
> 
> I like the french drain idea... to then route to a grease trap, to then a pump and a high pressure sprinkler to send the oil back...
> Seems elaborate, but I'm devious and hate inconsiderate neighbors.


I like it.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

I'm thinking that since he knows he's been caught in the act, he'll be less likely to do it again. I would certainly consider calling the police if it happens again.

As far as plugging the holes, I would assume this was part of the plan for drainage for the subdivision that would have to be approved by the City, so altering that drainage plan without approval could subject you to legal issues should your alterations cause someone's house to flood, or even cause someone's yard to become a pond.

I would try to keep the situation from escalating. I'm reminded of the Pennsylvania snow shoveling issue between neighbors that resulted in a murder/suicide a couple of months ago.


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## Ren (Aug 29, 2019)

libertynugget said:


> yeah, i would think plugging the drains would eventually take down the wall... if the water has nowhere to go, it will saturate the soil and eventually push the wall and make it unstable...
> 
> I like the french drain idea... to then route to a grease trap, to then a pump and a high pressure sprinkler to send the oil back...
> Seems elaborate, but I'm devious and hate inconsiderate neighbors.


I think you and i might get along just fine, :lol: My neighbors neighbor (2 over) has a horse arena that floods because of the type of soil they use i guess, so he put in a sump and pump to pump the water over the block wall into my neighbors front yard. im not sure what the underlying issue was but it caused about 20 sq ft of his yard to sink about 2' (it was crazy looking). When approached he said it was permitted that way (0% chance of that being true). My solution was to just put an 180 elbow on the pipe to pump it back into he horse arena. He eventually replumbed the pipe to pump into the other neighbors behind him...


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## sam36 (Apr 14, 2020)

I would assume the "holes" are actually a pvc pipe encrusted in grout? Seems like you could run a "main" line the length of the wall and use some wye adapters to plug into the holes. Then you'd at least have the contents of all the liquid from the holes running into one main line that you could drain out to the road or somewhere else.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Ren said:


> My neighbors neighbor (2 over) has a horse arena that floods because of the type of soil they use i guess, so he put in a sump and pump to pump the water over the block wall into my neighbors front yard.


I guess because of living in Florida my whole life, what you are describing is almost unimaginable for me. For one thing it is explicitly illegal in my area with severe financial consequences and, for another, you might _actually_ get a nasty and immediate reaction from your neighbor. I guess one good thing about living in Florida is the management of water is generally excellent. Like it usually takes at least 10" of rain before anybody floods in all the places I've lived.


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

Spammage said:


> DeepC said:
> 
> 
> > Theycallmemrr said:
> ...


Have you found something for your clay soil that you liked better? I'm across the lake from you so I imagine my clay is the same as yours


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Spammage said:


> I'm thinking that since he knows he's been caught in the act, he'll be less likely to do it again. I would certainly consider calling the police if it happens again.


I agree with the first part - he knows he messed up.

I would bet money the police will do nothing, so if he'd like, I can just post a picture of me shrugging my shoulders instead, and save the phone call 😂

Id just dig it out and replace, and extend a French drain to somewhere else. Why they thought to just have pipes emptying into the yard like that when they built is beyond me.


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## DeepC (Aug 12, 2020)

SCGrassMan said:


> Spammage said:
> 
> 
> > I'm thinking that since he knows he's been caught in the act, he'll be less likely to do it again. I would certainly consider calling the police if it happens again.
> ...


HA! Yes please post a picture of you shrugging your shoulders, THATS what this thread needs!

I was thinking of maybe digging out and replacing the soil too. Since the soil is oil saturated, the grass will probably die and not grow back in the whole season, I assume. Replace with what though? Whatever home depot has in a bag? Or sand? I cant imagine reel mowing over a bag of stick dirt from home depot, I think I just answered my own question.


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## FranksATX (May 7, 2018)

> I would bet money the police will do nothing, so if he'd like, I can just post a picture of me shrugging my shoulders instead, and save the phone call 😂


You area correct. The police will do nothing. If there are actual damages to your property or land home value take them to civil court if you can not mediate between men.

Just saying... if it was me I would pour some dish soap on the oil area and go talk to my neighbor explaining why what he is doing is negatively effecting me.

Not everyone cares about their lawn, but most people care about people.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

FranksATX said:


> > I would bet money the police will do nothing, so if he'd like, I can just post a picture of me shrugging my shoulders instead, and save the phone call 😂
> 
> 
> You area correct. The police will do nothing. If there are actual damages to your property or land home value take them to civil court if you can not mediate between men.
> ...


Yeah, this.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

DeepC said:


> I was thinking of maybe digging out and replacing the soil too. Since the soil is oil saturated, the grass will probably die and not grow back in the whole season, I assume. Replace with what though? Whatever home depot has in a bag? Or sand? I cant imagine reel mowing over a bag of stick dirt from home depot, I think I just answered my own question.


Never have I been so disappointed as when I bought a bunch of bags of Scott's "top soil" to discover its actually just finer (but not fine enough) shredded mulch. Try local garden centers, site one, top soil and mulch places around. We get this stuff in my area like mushroom compost, cow poop, cotton burr, etc. that you can mix in whatever local dirt.

I tend to think the guy was like "oh crap I didn't think this thing through" and really doesn't want to give you a hard time or have any drama.

I'm the kind of guy who would just crack jokes with him like "SOMEBODY seems to have dumped oil into my lawn!" - but a lot of people don't like me or my sense of humor, so take what I say with a grain of salt


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## AlexK (Mar 1, 2020)

Just give it a bit of time. Fortunately, it's cooking oil, which means its biodegradable, and an extract of either Peanut, Corn, Canola, Or random Vegetables. Fun fact, even crude is somewhat biodegradable. Living in the Eagle Ford, we had a pipeline leak on the property (thankfully not on my turf). The EPA approved method of remediation is pigging and absorbing what can be lifted, then turning the soil as deeply as possible (think deep plowing). Natural bacteria in the soils helps break it down. Within a month, most yellowed coastal (a bermuda variant) was only slightly yellowed, by two months all tress between the spill and the creek had leafed back out, and by a year later youd never even know something happened.

So potentially takin a small cultivator or weed claw and turning it up, then heavily watering to leach it down some would be effective. I'd also consider scaping down and removing anything you can that might have absorbed some of it first.


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## AlexK (Mar 1, 2020)

Forgot to add, the bacteria that break it all down thrive on Nitrates and Phosphates, so your normal fertilizing will actually aid in that process.

As for the neighbor, there's other mixes of fertilizer and oils that could be effective, but I wash my hands of that suggestion.


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