East Palestine considers processing wastewater from derailment site

(NewsNation) — It’s been one year since a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and now, local leaders are trying to decide whether to accept wastewater from the site.

The village’s water superintendent, Scott Wolfe, introduced the idea back in August. Under the proposal, the municipal wastewater plant would accept pre-treated wastewater and then treat it again before discharging it into Leslie Run, a stream in the area.

East Palestine would be paid for providing the service, but it is unclear how much.

Over the past year, cleanup crews have shipped roughly 44 million gallons of runoff water from the derailment site. That water is currently held in massive tanks and then treated at a temporary Norfolk Southern facility on-site before being tested and sent elsewhere.

The village council took up the issue at a special meeting in December where residents asked questions and aired concerns.

At that meeting, Wolfe underscored the financial benefits and emphasized that the water would be held to “drinking water standards” even though the plan wouldn’t affect the town’s drinking water, according to meeting notes.

“This is by no means drinking water,” Wolfe told a local news outlet. “It goes to the wastewater plant, not the drinking water plant.”

After being treated and tested for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the water would be discharged into Leslie Run the same way the village’s sewer water currently is. But that process has residents and environmental groups concerned, fearing pollutants could eventually wind up in a drinking source for some five million people.

The Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment — a grassroots advocacy group of residents impacted by the derailment — along with Three Rivers Waterkeeper and the Beaverton County Marcellus Awareness Community have launched an online petition opposing the idea.

The petition warns that the proposal could “negatively impact the entire Ohio River Valley.”

Heather Hulton VanTassel, the executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a Pittsburgh-based environmental group, thinks the current plan lacks key details.

“The superintendent has the right to say yes or no to whether that wastewater is accepted, but there are no actual quantification limits that are made for certain contaminants that could be in that wastewater,” she said.

VanTassel said that while the village can test the wastewater for some compounds, it can’t test for vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical that spilled in town. She’s also worried the facility isn’t built to handle the wear and tear that will come from a surge in wastewater.

Chad Conard, an East Palestine resident, called for more transparency from local leaders after the council wouldn’t say how much money the village would make from taking the wastewater.

“Why won’t they tell us that now?” Conard told a local news station at the December meeting. “They know how much.”

Another local at the meeting expressed concern about the village’s legal exposure.

“If the village approves this, does it not take the burden of liability off of Norfolk Southern?” asked East Palestine resident Dave DiPello, the local newspaper reported.

When reached by email this week, Wolfe told NewsNation that conversations are ongoing and didn’t provide a timeframe for the council’s decision.

“The Village is still discussing this internally. Once those discussions are finalized, it will be brought to council to be voted on at a public meeting,” he said.

East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway did not respond when asked where those discussions stand.

Earlier this week, Chris Hunsicker, Norfolk Southern’s regional manager of environmental operations, said the water coming into the on-site system is “looking very good” but said the treatment process will continue for the time being.

“Until we can demonstrate that that water is not affected, we’re going to collect that before we let it flow like it did before,” Hunsicker told NewsNation affiliate WKBN.

Treating the wastewater on-site has enabled Norfolk Southern to ship it as non-hazardous material. When the temporary facility got up and running in September, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined the water no longer contained hazardous waste.

Over the past year, waste from the derailment has been a contentious issue in communities across the country.

In September, local officials and residents in Coshocton, Ohio, expressed concern after thousands of gallons of East Palestine wastewater were pumped into nearby injection wells.

City leaders in Baltimore were similarly dismayed when they learned about plans to process derailment wastewater at a local facility back in March.

The disposal of contaminated soil from the derailment has also prompted objections.  

One year later, community members say they’re still experiencing strange illnesses and worry about long-term health issues. Since the derailment, independent testers have discovered high levels of dioxins and other chemicals in the air, water and soil.

President Joe Biden will visit East Palestine this month, making good on his March 2023 promise to go to the area “at some point.”

“I don’t want this to just be a political stunt,” East Palestine resident Misti Allison told NewsNation Thursday. “I want President Biden to come to East Palestine with support, resources and really hopefully a positive update to give this area some hope.”

NewsNation reporter Rich McHugh contributed to this story.