MEAD — Two weeks after putting off a decision, the Mead Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended revoking AltEn’s conditional use permit to manufacture ethanol 1 mile south of the Saunders County town.
The recommendation, which will be taken up by the village’s Board of Trustees on June 8, would allow AltEn to continue using equipment and machinery on site to continue cleanup and dispose of pesticide-contaminated soil and water.
The Board of Trustees could adopt the recommendation as is, or choose a different course of action.
Wednesday's decision marks a reversal of the commission’s earlier plan to pull the conditional use permit it granted in 2014 to the Kansas-based company to operate an ethanol plant and pair of 4 million gallon anaerobic digesters, which turned manure from the neighboring Mead Cattle Company into methane.
When it went into operation in 2015, AltEn began using corn and soybean seeds coated in pesticides as a feedstock to produce ethanol, rather than harvested grain as is used in nearly all other ethanol plants in the United States.
AltEn’s ethanol manufacturing process left behind solid and wastewater byproducts heavily contaminated with insecticides and fungicides, which are believed to be the cause of health and environmental problems in the area.
At a special meeting on May 3, Stephen Mossman, an attorney representing AltEn, asked the commission to suspend its conditional use permit, rather than revoke it, which would allow the company or a third party to continue cleanup of the site.
That led the commission to delay a decision until Wednesday night at the Mead Community Center in front of about a half dozen residents of the town.
Still, the six members of the board were not set on any one course of action when the meeting began.
Wyatt Schartz said AltEn’s long history of violating state environmental regulations and a lack of communication from the plant’s management and ownership made him leery of letting activity to continue there.
“We haven’t been given a plan for cleanup,†Schwartz said. “I don’t think we should make any more deals with them.â€
Another member, Scott Morin, initially suggested recommending the village board find AltEn in violation of the ordinance that allowed them to operate, and use that as a basis for revocation.
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Morin later made the motion adding remedial conditions in the recommendation.
Ultimately, instead of adopting the language suggested by AltEn, commissioners decided to revoke the permit with exceptions, which according to village attorney Maureen Freeman-Caddy, was done at the request of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
“They didn’t want any barriers to remediation,†Freeman-Caddy said after the meeting.
Mossman said the recommendation approved Wednesday night appeared to do the same thing AltEn had pushed for, though he added he would need to review the specific language to be considered by the village board.
Bill Thorson, the chairman of Mead’s village board, also said he agreed with the language in the recommendation allowing for AltEn and Bayer — which has taken a point position in remediation efforts at the ethanol plant — to continue cleaning up the site.
“That’s what we’ve been pushing for the whole time,†Thorson said. “There’s no sense in stopping them from using anything out there that cleans it up.â€
Revoking AltEn’s permit outright would only delay cleanup, and potentially do more damage to surface and groundwater in the area, Thorson added.
State environmental regulators continue to do site visits at the ethanol facility and are in contact with plant manager Scott Tingelhoff as well as remediation experts from Bayer, which Thorson said puts “too many eyes on them to mess up again.â€
“The sooner we can get it cleaned up, the better,†he added. “If that means we have to let them run their digesters and other things to get the water and other stuff out there, we’ve got to do it.â€
Photos: Mead ethanol plant
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant. COURTESY PHOTO
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant
A burst pipe late last week in a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead sent liquid manure and thin stillage, a byproduct of the ethanol manufacturing process, into waterways and culverts up to 4 miles from the plant.
COURTESY PHOTO
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
The Department of Environment and Energy ordered AltEn Ethanol near Mead to shut down in early February, dispose of millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater on the site and repair lagoons in violation of state regulations.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star file photo
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
Unlike other ethanol plants, AltEn used treated seed instead of harvested grain for its fuel production. The byproduct from that process and wastewater near the plant have been found to carry levels of pesticides and fungicides above limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star file photo
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
AltEn Ethanol has been the subject of dozens of complaints since it reopened near Mead in 2015 related to an odor coming from the byproduct of its ethanol process, seen here at the beginning of the month. The byproduct has been found to carry levels of pesticides and fungicides above limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
AltEn ethanol plant is seen in this photo, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021.Â
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
AltEn shut down its operations on Feb. 8 after an order by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. The state found three lagoons on the site were contaminated, badly damaged and holding more wastewater than permitted.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
AltEn is unique among ethanol plants in that it uses seeds pre-treated with pesticides to produce ethanol instead of harvested grain. It ceased operation on Feb. 8 after a state order.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Mead, 2.4
MEAD, NEB. - 02/04/2021 - A view of Mead, including the grain elevators with Frontier Cooperative, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
AltEn Ethanol
Emptied treated seed bags are stacked at the AltEn company in this photo taken in April 2019 during a Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy inspection. The ethanol plant near Mead used the seed to produce ethanol and the byproduct from the process to create soil conditioner sold to area farmers.
COURTESY PHOTO
AltEn Ethanol, 2.4
AltEn Ethanol has been the subject of dozens of complaints since it reopened near Mead in 2015 related to an odor coming from the byproduct of its ethanol process. The byproduct has been found to carry levels of pesticides and fungicides above limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star file photo
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
A pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
A notification of environmental concern inspection report from Feb. 12, 2021, noted "flow, dark water and odor," in water pictured on University of Nebraska-Lincoln property. A pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant near Mead late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy,
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
University of Nebraska-Lincoln personnel using a backhoe to place bales and plastic to dam the culvert on UNL property near Mead after a pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the AltEn Ethanol plant late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
A notification of environmental concern inspection report from Feb. 12 noted "flow, dark water and odor," in water pictured on UNL property after a pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at AltEn Ethanol near Mead, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
Water pools west of the leaking digester at Mead AltEn Ethanol on Feb. 12 after a pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
A depth finder measures flow from a leak on Feb. 12 after a pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at AltEn Ethanol near Mead late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
Mead AltEn Ethanol employees use trash pumps to transport water into an emergency lagoon on Feb. 12. A pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the plant late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
Mead AltEn Ethanol employees work to install a trash pump to transport water into an emergency lagoon on Feb. 12. A pipe burst on a 4 million-gallon digester tank at the plant late last week, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
Mead AltEn Ethanol plant leak
Water exits the damaged area (blue arrow) of a 4 million-gallon digester tank at AltEn Ethanol near Mead on Feb. 12, releasing waste material into the waterways and culverts more than 4 miles from the plant, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
AltEn Ethanol cleanup
A crew works to remove waste material from a culvert southeast of AltEn Ethanol on Tuesday in Saunders County.Â
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Saunders County Board of Supervisors
Saunders County Supervisors David Lutton (from left), Doris Karloff and Craig Breunig listen to Saunders County Attorney Joe Dobesh (not seen) speak about communications with state officials about AltEn Ethanol in February in Wahoo.Â
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star file photo
AltEn Ethanol cleanup
An earthen dam blocks the flow of waste material in a waterway southeast of AltEn Ethanol last week in Saunders County.Â
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Saunders County Board of Supervisors
Saunders County Attorney Joe Dobesh talks about his communication with state officials about AltEn Ethanol at a Saunders County Board of Supervisors meeting in late February in Wahoo.Â
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star file photo
AltEn Ethanol cleanup
A crew works to remove waste material from a culvert southeast of AltEn Ethanol on Tuesday in Saunders County.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journhttps://leemun-tcmsv2.leeent.net/lincoln.local/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/09/9092f903-80e4-5f8e-a0c9-828b1a4e95e5/60355b41dcca3.image.jpgal Star
Saunders County Board of Supervisors
The Saunders County Board of Supervisors listens to Saunders County Attorney Joe Dobesh (not pictured) speak about communications with state officials about AltEn Ethanol on Tuesday during the board's meeting in Wahoo.Â
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
AltEn Ethanol cleanup
A crew works to remove waste material from a culvert southeast of AltEn Ethanol on Tuesday in Saunders County.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Saunders County Board of Supervisors
Saunders County Supervisors David Lutton, Doris Karloff and Craig Breunig listen to Saunders County Attorney Joe Dobesh speaks about communications with state officials about AltEn Ethanol on Tuesday during the board's meeting in Wahoo.Â
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
AltEn aerial
The AltEn plant near Mead, which the state shut down earlier this year, is shown on Aug. 25. Along with the toxic solids spread on land surrounding the site, the environmental cleanup is also focused on removing pesticides from wastewater on the site.
Silver Lab Productions, For the Journal Star
Wet cake in field
This 2021 Google Maps image shows a location north of Mead where AltEn's distiller's grains were stockpiled in a cornfield.
Chris Dunker
Stan and Evelyn Keiser, 6.30
Evelyn and Stan Keiser had hoped to build a cabin on their property near a pond created by Stan Keiser's grandfather. The pond, once teeming with wildlife, is now a dead zone after pesticide-contaminated wastewater from the AltEn ethanol plant near Mead flowed downstream. The Keisers were also recently notified that their private well, which provides their drinking water, contains contaminants.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star file photo
Keiser pond
Pesticide contaminated water that has run off from the AltEn ethanol plant near Mead has been responsible for rendering Stan and Evelyn Keiser's farm pond a dead zone.
Courtesy photo
Mead Tour, 7.8
Curtis Pearson of Mead talks Thursday during a meeting at Mead Covenant Church about the troubled AltEn ethanol plant near the town.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Mead Tour, 7.8
Stan Keiser talks Thursday during a meeting at Mead Covenant Church about the troubled AltEn ethanol plant near the town.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com .
On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS
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