AltEn Plant Cleanup Makes Progress

Wet Cake Waste Removal To Be Completed at Nebraska AltEn Ethanol Plant in 2025

Todd Neeley
By  Todd Neeley , DTN Environmental Editor
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The removal of wet cake from a former ethanol plant site in Mead, Nebraska, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. (DTN file photo by Todd Neeley)

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A group of seed companies and others cleaning up an abandoned ethanol plant site in Mead, Nebraska, expect to have all the pesticide-laden wet cake removed from the property by the end of 2025, the group announced Tuesday.

The facility response group resumed a pilot project in June 2024, examining the best way to remove and dispose of wet cake from the property.

The AltEn ethanol plant just south of the town of Mead has been shut down since February 2021 following numerous environmental violations reported by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

AltEn promoted the idea of accepting unsold treated corn seed from major companies but began stockpiling the contaminated wet cake on site after it was considered unfit for livestock feed or as a soil conditioner. The wet cake and ponds filled with pesticide-contaminated water on the site combined to create an environmental disaster for the neighboring residents.

The response group reported progress is being made on the cleanup.

"Now that best practices have been identified, the FRG is committed to completing the solidification and transportation of all wet cake to WM's (Waste Management) Pheasant Point Landfill in Bennington, Nebraska," the group said in a news release.

The response group consists of AgReliant, Bayer, Becks, Corteva Agriscience, Syngenta and Windfield United -- companies that delivered neonicotinoid-treated seed to the AltEn plant.

So far about 37,400 tons of wet cake were solidified and disposed of this summer, bringing the total wet cake removed from the site to 47,608 tons -- or 2,240 truckloads -- as of Sept. 20.

The group said the amount of wet cake still on site is estimated to be more than 100,000 tons.

"However, the exact number varies since wet cake is mixed and solidified with bentonite before it is removed," according to a news release.

Other site activities are expected to continue through spring 2025, including water treatment, standard groundwater testing and lagoon liner removal.

The facility response group said more than 100 million gallons of water have been treated at the on-site treatment plant.

In addition, an estimated 38 million gallons have been applied to more than 1,100 acres of local land, which the group said has been "an enormous benefit to farmers."

Water treatment on site is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with land application to continue in 2025 until all treated water is applied.

Earlier this summer, solids and water were dredged from the site's southeast and northwest lagoons.

Environmental monitoring, including air, groundwater and soil tests, continues to ensure site stability.

"It's been a busy summer of trucks hauling the wet cake off site, and the FRG is encouraged by the work being done," said NewFields Senior Engineer Bill Butler.

"After months of great progress and a successful pilot project, the FRG now has a full plan informed by data and analysis from the pilot project to remove all the wet cake in the safest and most efficient way."

Read more on DTN:

"Waste Removal Resumes at Ethanol Plant," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

"Settlement Talks Ongoing in AltEn Case," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

"Wet Cake Is Next Phase in AltEn Cleanup," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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Todd Neeley

Todd Neeley
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