EPA completes oversight at C6-Zero cleanup site

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has completed its oversight of cleanup operations at the C6-Zero recycling facility in Marengo after an explosion in December 2022 evacuated part of the town and injured several.

The EPA began overseeing the cleanup operations in May 2023 after receiving a request for federal assistance from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Kellen Ashford, a spokesperson for EPA Region 7, said the site likely will go back to the Iowa DNR for “additional oversight and/or any assessment.”

Ashford said after the explosion and fire, the Iowa DNR took the lead on the initial response, before being referred to the EPA.

“EPA received the final excavation report, and final report for removal activities, after confirmation sampling indicated that no additional soil excavation at the site was warranted,” the EPA’ said in a news release Thursday.

C6-Zero has said it recycled old asphalt shingles into other products at the Marengo plant. The clean up operations at the site after the explosion included disposing of all waste from the site, including contaminated liquids and solids.

A judge ordered the company to pay a $95,700 fine for workplace safety violations that contributed to the explosion. But since then, the state had sued C6-Zero to help recover the $1.5 million spent on clean up efforts. The company also faces lawsuits from two employees who sustained injuries.

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; olivia.cohen@thegazette.com