A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by several major agrichemical companies against the defunct AltEn ethanol plant near Mead after both sides reached a settlement last month. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Buescher granted the dismissal on November 26 at the request of attorneys representing AltEn and the group of seed companies known as the Facility Response Group.
As part of the undisclosed settlement, AltEn must file an environmental covenant with Saunders County establishing long-term restrictions on how the property can be used. The Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (NDWEE) uses these covenants to protect the public from contamination left behind at cleanup sites. The covenant requires AltEn to provide NDWEE and cleanup contractors full access to the property for soil, water, and air testing. It also permanently prohibits residential use, childcare facilities, school playgrounds, and groundwater consumption without state approval.
The Facility Response Group—made up of Bayer, Syngenta, Corteva, AgReliant, Beck’s, and WinField United—took control of the site in 2021 after AltEn shut down. They entered the state’s Voluntary Cleanup Program and have since spent millions managing the plant’s pesticide-contaminated byproducts. Their lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleged AltEn mishandled toxic seed waste, forcing the companies to take over remediation efforts while AltEn contributed nothing toward cleanup.
Recent progress at the site has been significant. By August, all 165,000 tons of pesticide-laden wetcake had been removed—requiring nearly 7,300 truckloads to transport the material to a landfill near Bennington. Cleanup crews continue to treat stormwater and wastewater for safe land application, and have demolished a grain silo and cleared out 5,100 tons of leftover seed, which were shipped to an incinerator in Oklahoma. Plans also call for mixing contaminated lagoon material with soil and cement, then burying it beneath layers of clay and topsoil, with vegetation eventually covering the area.
The state’s separate lawsuit against AltEn, filed in 2021, has been paused until June 2026 to allow settlement talks to continue. Meanwhile, cleanup efforts are expected to run through at least 2026. Governor Jim Pillen is scheduled to highlight the site’s progress at a press conference Tuesday in Mead, joined by NDWEE officials and representatives from the engineering firm overseeing the remediation.
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