EAST PALESTINE – In March, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said cleanup efforts of the Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment would likely take three months. Monday marked two months since the rail disaster and controlled burn of vinyl chloride with 18,900 tons of contaminated soil waiting to be removed from the site and an estimated 16,600 tons already removed.

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance addressed the cleanup efforts on the American Moment Podcast this week, saying that before East Palestine can move forward all toxic waste needs removed from the village. He also expressed hope that the cleanup efforts will meet Regan’s informal deadline.

“You still have a mound of dirt in East Palestine that has been dug out of the ground and has to go somewhere. And you will never allow the people of East Palestine to live a normal life until that stuff is out of their town,” he said. “There has been a lot of resistance in taking it and the implication is that it should just sit in East Palestine forever and I refuse to accept that. We have done a lot of work to get that stuff moving and I think we’ve made a pretty good amount of progress on that and I suspect a month from now, a month and half from now, that cleanup should be completed.”

Removal efforts were hindered in March when officials of the states where licensed disposal facilities were located began turning away shipments of derailment waste. Oklahoma, Texas and Michigan all initially refused to accept the shipments before the federal EPA stepped in and ordered them to do so under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as “Superfund.”

Aside from the dirt, the Ohio EPA reports that approximately 10.2 million gallons of liquid wastewater have been removed from the site. Two one-million-gallon above-ground storage tanks were built off of North Pleasant Street to hold contaminated stormwater that has flowed through the derailment site before it is shipped off for disposal. The EPA also announced this week that sheet piling is being installed around the tanks as a secondary form of containment. The sheet piling is fixed into the ground to make sure no wastewater leaks from the tanks and that any runoff is contained and captured.

In other environmental remediation, the EPA reports that “stream contaminant mitigation and water quality improvement efforts in Sulphur Run and Leslie Run are nearing completion.” The public is still advised to avoid the creeks until further notice.

On Wednesday, the Columbiana County Health Department received verified laboratory results from 14 private wells. According to the results, the testing did not detect any contaminants. So far, 221 samples have been tested and reported results have concluded that no harmful levels are present. Gov. Mike DeWine’s office reminds residents near East Palestine that sampling of private wells is still available by calling 330-849-3919.

Soil-sampling results from inside the East Palestine City Park were also released this week. Two samples were taken from seven different spots within the park – one at the surface and one below the surface. According to a press release from the village, “the results confirmed that the park’s soil is well within safe limits.” Replacing of sod and mulch is ongoing at the park.

selverd@mojonews.com