LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — An environmental watchdog group is raising concerns about new groundwater sampling that shows some high concentrations of pesticides in the vicinity of the AltEn ethanol plant in Mead.
Eight of the nine test wells recently drilled showed some level of pesticide contamination, according to the Perivallon Group, a collection of environmental groups concerned about long-term contamination in the vicinity of the plant.
The AltEn plant had been using waste seed corn, coated in pesticides, to produce ethanol. The facility was shut down last year by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, which then sued the plant for violating state environmental rules.
In a news release, Perivallon spokesman Al Davis said the testing of wells sunk 50 feet below AltEn’s wastewater lagoons shows significant leaching of the toxic solution from the lagoons.
Holes in liners
Davis said NDEE has documented for some time that there are holes in the damaged liners.
“Once again, we see that the efforts of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, the AltEn Facility Response Group and AltEn LLC have not been enough to protect the aquifer from contamination,” Davis said.
Davis, a former state senator, was recently chosen as State Sen. Carol Blood’s running mate in her campaign for Nebraska governor. Blood, of Bellevue, has led the charge in the Nebraska Legislature to clean up the AltEn mess and hold those responsible accountable.
A phone message left with NewFields, one of the companies involved in the response at AltEn, was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon. NDEE also did not respond immediately to an email seeking comment.
‘Some progress’
Earlier this year, some Mead officials said they were glad “some progress” was being made to clean up the plant site. “We are finally seeing some progress,” the Rev. John Schnell, pastor of Mead Covenant Church, said in February.
In February, Jim Macy, director of the NDEE, said his agency was visiting the AltEn site three times a week and was working closely with a group of six seed corn companies who volunteered to clean up the site at no cost to the state.
The AltEn plant has drawn national alarm as an environmental concern since it was revealed a year ago that the plant had, for years, been using contaminated seed corn. The leftover “seed cake,” after being used for ethanol, had been spread on nearby farm fields until the NDEE halted that practice.
Now piles of wet cake cover 16 acres at the plant. The piles were recently covered with a plaster-like covering called Posi-shell. About 180 million gallons of polluted wastewater are held in the wastewater lagoons.
NDEE records indicate that monitoring wells were drilled last month to a depth of up to 55 feet.
Perivallon said that of most concern are the levels of three contaminants found in the groundwater: Mefenoxam, a fungicide, which tested at 2,700 micrograms per liter; Thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid, at 2,000 micrograms per liter; and the insecticide Chlorantraniliprole, which tested at 960 micrograms per liter.
Beneficial insects at risk
Judy Wu-Smart, the lead entomologist at the Bee Lab at the nearby University of Nebraska-Lincoln research station, said the levels of pesticides are not yet at the level to cause “acute toxicity” in mammals, but she said they present a lethal risk for aquatic invertebrates and beneficial insects. A significant drop in the bee population near the AltEn plant in recent years has drawn concerns.
Davis said that his group is also concerned about a “mysterious drop” in the levels of wastewater lagoons at the AltEn site.
That, he said, may be the reason contaminants have leeched into the groundwater.
The shallow aquifer in that area, the Todd Valley Aquifer, spans about a third of Saunders County and stretches from Mead to Ashland, Parivallon said.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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