Wastewater Spills at Ethanol Plant Blamed on Pipe Bursts

Environmental officials say a frozen pipe has burst at a Nebraska ethanol plant that had been ordered to close a week ago, causing a wastewater spill. A local media source report said that the AltEn ethanol plant reported the accidental discharge around 2:30 a.m. Friday at the facility near Mead. Personnel at an adjacent University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural research, extension and education center worked to contain the spill. And the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy said in a news release that it sent staff and was monitoring the situation.