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LISBON -- An extended water sampling program for wells outside of the established priority zones near East Palestine is getting closer to starting, with some final details to be ironed out.
Columbiana County Health District Environmental Director Laura Fauss reported the very exciting news Wednesday night during the county health district board meeting, advising the much-awaited $2 million grant has been awarded from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
On Thursday, she said she met with officials from the county Port Authority, the agency which is adminstering the grant, and learned there's still some paperwork and details to be worked out before the program can become operational.
"We're excited to be able to start this program later in 2025," Fauss said.
The health district and CCPA signed agreements last year to work together on the program, with the CCPA handling the administration of the grant and the health district conducting the sampling work. Under the contract, the CCPA will receive up to 7 percent of the awarded grant amount for administrative services, with 3 percent of the awarded grant amount going to the health district as compensation for work performed.
Since the 2023 East Palestine train disaster, the health district has been collecting private water
samples for testing in the priority zones, with maps showing the locations of the property zones on the health district website at www.columbiana-health.org, along with results of the water testing.
The promised grant will enable the health district to go outside of those areas to test well water at no cost to the property owners, with the program expected to last through 2031 once it gets started.
In other business, Health Services Administrator Amanda Amato reported there are still zero cases of measles in Columbiana County and zero in surrounding counties, with no new cases reported to the state of Ohio as of last week, keeping the total number of cases in Ohio at 34 in 2025.
She also reported the nursing department is starting to see increases in children getting back-to-school vaccines. Anyone needing the vaccines offered by the health district can call for an appointment at 330-424-0272.
Amato said the first PSA clinic to screen for prostate cancer was a success with 34 participants.
The board agreed to appropriate $30,000 from the carryover to the general fund to cover contract services and mileage and also accepted the annual amounts and tax rates for the cancer levy.
The board approved the Carroll County PHEP (Public Health Emergency Preparedness) agreement for Columbiana County to provide services to Carroll County. The contract runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Carroll County will pay Columbiana County $28,000 to administer and complete deliverables associated with the state PHEP requirements.
"We think this is a good arrangement for both Carroll County and for us," Columbiana County Health Commissioner Dr. Wes Vins said.
The board also renewed the Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the county Emergency Management Agency related to emergency response.
The next meeting of the county health district board will be 4:30 p.m. July 16 at the health district headquarters, 7360 state Route 45, Lisbon.