EPA Resumes transportation of Ohio Toxic Water and Soil, But Not to Deer Park

Update 4:30 p.m. 2-27-23: The Environmental Protection Agency has identified two other EPA-certified facilities to receive water and soil from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

Ross Incineration Services in Grafton, Ohio and Heritage Environmental Services in Roachdale, Indiana will receive shipments of waste from the site tomorrow, said Debra Shore, EPA administrator for region 5.

The facilities in Ohio that were receiving water and solid waste today do not have the capacity to intake all waste materials from the derailment site, Shore said.

Shore said the EPA is continuing to evaluate additional options for further clean-up due to the capacity restrictions of all four of these facilities, Shore said.

There is no timeline as to when the clean-up project will conclude, however the addition of these two holding facilities and any more accelerate the process.

“The addition of these disposal locations gets us closer to having enough capacity to finish the cleanup and to get all the waste out of East Palestine, as quickly as possible,” Shore said.

According to Shore, prior to selecting which facilities will receive the materials, all of them are going through EPA-compliance screenings to determine their operating within EPA requirements.

Update 8:30 a.m. 2-27-23: The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the continuation of transportation of some of the water and soil from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment to two Ohio locations.

Shipments of both solid and water waste from the site will start back up again today. The water will be transported to a facility in Vickery, Ohio and the soil will be moved to a Heritage Incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio, according to Debra Shore, EPA administrator for region 5.

Shore said the EPA has done home air screenings and additional air-monitoring at 15 stations throughout the community and all air quality tests results have come back normal.

To ensure the quality of the community’s drinking water, water monitoring wells will be installed along the derailment site to detect any contaminants in the water throughout the disposal process, Shore said.

Though some of this transportation will begin Monday, , Shore said the EPA is still working to
identify additional transportation options.

Original Story:

The Environmental Protection Agency has hit pause on all further transportation of the contaminated water used to fight the fire at the Norfolk Southern train derailment that occurred on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio.

“The EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and lawful manner and at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of hazardous substances and impacts to communities,” said Debra Shore, EPA administrator for region 5.

Up until this decision, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency – a state regulated agency not affiliated with the federal agency – was overseeing the disposal efforts which were carried out solely by Norfolk Southern Railway, Shore said.

Initial transportation of 500,000 gallons of the wastewater to Texas Molecular occurred two weeks ago – without any communication to Harris County officials until a week after it arrived.

Smaller portions of the water were supposed to be transported to another waste management facility in Ohio. However, with this pause, it is unclear where the rest of the wastewater will be transported now.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee worked closely with the EPA to determine why the water was transported to Texas and why officials were not notified about the transportation.

Congresswoman Jackson Lee has worked intensely with the EPA and EPA Administrator for the last few days to protect communities from toxic waste disposal. This process of dumping toxic waste in communities without prior notice to local cities and counties has to stop.
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) February 25, 2023

In response to Jackson’s announcement, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo expressed her support of the EPA’s decision to pause the transportation of the water.

In a tweet, Hidalgo said that the temporary hold will allow the EPA to assess components of the water and ensure the security of its transportation efforts.

I’m heartened by the pause in transportation of the wastewater and believe it’s prudent for the EPA to assess its components before determining where it will be transported. Both EPA and DOT have promised to remain in touch with my office as they make decisions in the coming days
— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) February 26, 2023

Hidalgo said that the EPA and the Department of Transportation would remain in contact with her office during the decision-making process within the upcoming days.