Mead residents plead state to help clean toxic waste

Concerned Mead citizens shared stories and asked for the state's help to clean up pollution from the AltEn ethanol plant.

People in Mead are demanding answers after years of pollution from an AltEn ethanol plant has disrupted their way of life.

From 2019 to early 2021, state officials say the ethanol plant was responsible for producing 84,000 tons – or 30 acres – of toxic waste. Mead residents say they are still paying the price.

“I cough constantly, drainage, headaches, I’ve been to the doctor, they’ve sent me to a specialist,” Jody Weible, a Mead resident since 1986, said. “I have sores on my tongue from 2019. I’ve been to three doctors. They can’t figure it out.”

Mead citizens mention health concerns, potential declines in property value, impact on water safety, and nauseating smells as just a few of the problems the pollution has caused.

“[The smell] will still want to make you throw up and burn your nose,” Weible said.

“It’s our own Flint, Michigan story,” Mead resident Emily Loftus said. “Now we’ve got questions: Should we move? Can we move? Who would buy our house?”

Cleanup of the soil and water pollution in Mead could take years to remedy.

“We’re going to end up being a ghost town if somebody doesn’t step up and hold AltEn accountable and help us,” Weible said.