The Cedar Rapids Gazette is reporting the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has filed a lawsuit seeking over $1.5 million from a Marengo plant that exploded in December.
Twenty people were treated at a hospital after the explosion at the C6-Zero plant in Marengo. It took crews from more than 20 fire departments in the area 15 hours to put out the fire. The state’s lawsuit against the company and its owner says $640,000 worth of fire equipment needs to be replaced. The state also spent nearly $900,000 to contain and treat contaminated water to keep it from reaching drinking water systems downstream. The Iowa River is near Marengo and supplies drinking water for Iowa City and the University of Iowa.
The C6-Zero plant used flammable chemicals to recycle asphalt shingles. An EPA report indicates 160,000 gallons of oil extracted from shingles were at the site when the plant exploded.