LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A group of seed companies and others cleaning up an abandoned ethanol plant site in Mead, Nebraska, expect to have all the pesticide-laden wet cake removed from the property by the end of 2025, the group announced Tuesday.

The facility response group resumed a pilot project in June 2024, examining the best way to remove and dispose of wet cake from the property.

The AltEn ethanol plant just south of the town of Mead has been shut down since February 2021 following numerous environmental violations reported by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

AltEn promoted the idea of accepting unsold treated corn seed from major companies but began stockpiling the contaminated wet cake on site after it was considered unfit for livestock feed or as a soil conditioner. The wet cake and ponds filled with pesticide-contaminated water on the site combined to create an environmental disaster for the neighboring residents.

The response group reported progress is being made on the cleanup.

"Now that best practices have been identified, the FRG is committed to completing the solidification and transportation of all wet cake to WM's (Waste Management) Pheasant Point Landfill in Bennington, Nebraska," the group said in a news release.

The response group consists of AgReliant, Bayer, Becks, Corteva Agriscience, Syngenta and Windfield United -- companies that delivered neonicotinoid-treated seed to the AltEn plant.

So far about 37,400 tons of wet cake were solidified and disposed of this summer, bringing the total wet cake removed from the site to 47,608 tons -- or 2,240 truckloads -- as of Sept. 20.