Keokuk plant faces second public nuisance lawsuit from nearby residents

A second group of Keokuk residents has filed a potential class-action lawsuit against a corn processing plant in the city, claiming noxious odors from the plant have created a public nuisance.

The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court, is the second of its type to be filed against Roquette America, a corn syrup and cornstarch producer.

In June, two individuals who own property within 1,000 feet of the plant, David M. Dye and Steve L. Andrews, sued the company and claimed they’ve been damaged by a “significant” increase in odors emanating from the site. That lawsuit still is pending.

The new lawsuit, based on similar claims, has been filed on behalf of two other Keokuk residents, Anne-Marie Helenthal and Debra Hunter.

The two lawsuits allege the plant features a wastewater treatment system to treat corn-processing byproducts and industrial waste, and that the company has failed to install, maintain and operate adequate odor mitigating strategies.

“The foul odors emitted from the defendant’s facility are offensive, would be offensive to a reasonable person of ordinary health and sensibilities, and have caused property damage,” the newly filed lawsuit claims.

The lawsuits have yet to be granted class-action status, but the most recent filing quotes putative class members Lana and John Jefferson as saying the smell “sometimes gets so thick in the air you almost puke,” and that despite building a new porch to sit outside they sometimes “just go back in ’cause of the smell and noise,” leaving them feeling trapped in their own home.

Court records indicate the plant was built about 122 years ago. However, the wastewater treatment facility on the site wasn’t constructed until 1977. In 1991, Roquette purchased the plant, and in 2013, Roquette allegedly began expanding its wastewater treatment system. According to court records, Roquette created an “overflow tank” in 2023 that resulted in a near-constant “foul and offensive odor” once it became operational.

The lawsuits allege the plant’s wastewater treatment is subject to separation-distance requirements that legally restrict its operations if there are habitable structures within 1,000 feet of the plant, unless a waiver has been signed by the nearby landowners.

Dye and Andrews claim they don’t recall signing any such waiver. “The odor far exceeds any typical normal operating procedural smells,” their lawsuit claims, adding that the smell is so severe that Dye and Andrews have had to leave their homes and stay in hotels, avoid using air conditioning or heating in order to prevent outside air from entering their homes, and avoid outdoor activities at home.

The odor, they allege, “contains harmful gases” that endanger their physical and mental health.

Federal records show that in October 2024, Roquette agreed to pay $207,488 in civil penalties for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act related to the Keokuk plant. The company also agreed to donate emergency response vehicles to the Keokuk Fire Department as part of the settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the EPA, the company stores more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a regulated toxic substance, on site and failed to comply with regulations intended to protect the surrounding community from accidental releases.

In addition, the lawsuits claim, Roquette previously entered into a consent decree with the EPA over alleged violations at the plant.

The lawsuits allege negligence in the construction and use of the plant; the creation of a nuisance that has deposited silt upon homes and vehicles and destroyed vegetation; and trespassing in the form of air contaminants that have “physically invaded” the plaintiffs’ property.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified compensatory damages as well as an injunction permanently barring Roquette from diverting odor onto the plaintiffs’ property or interfering with the plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their property.

An attorney for Roquette America has declined to comment on the litigation, but in response to the lawsuit filed in June, the company denied any wrongdoing and asserted that it “operates as a reasonable corn milling plant” that is “currently in compliance with all applicable permits.”

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.