Trending
EAST PALESTINE -- A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 to discuss the possibility of accepting pre-treated wastewater generated as a result of the Feb. 3 train derailment, East Palestine's Village Council announced at its regular meeting on Monday.
The special meeting is an opportunity for residents to ask questions and voice any concerns as the village considers a proposal presented by East Palestine Water Superintendent Scott Wolfe in August to accept and discharge a portion of the water currently being treated at Norfolk Southern's wastewater treatment facility.
Under that proposal, some of the treated wastewater would be straight-piped into East Palestine's sanitary sewer system and then treated again by the municipal wastewater plant before being discharged by the village. The village would be paid by Norfolk Southern for providing the disposal service.
The temporary Norfolk Southern wastewater plant began operations in September with the first batch of water from the facility determined by the Ohio EPA to no longer contain hazardous waste and considered to be non-hazardous. With the wastewater no longer labeled as "hazardous," restrictions on where the water could be disposed of decreased.
Disposing of the derailment wastewater in the past came with some challenges as some states refused to treat or discharge the water once it was. The treated water, which the EPA and Wolfe both said would be treated to "drinking water" standards, can now be disposed of, effectively anywhere.
The EPA explained in September that the facility utilizes several steps -- including sedimentation, filtration, oil-water separation, air stripping and activated carbon -- to remove suspended solids and particles, oils, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other remaining site contaminants. Treated wastewater samples are collected to verify the system is working as planned. The treated wastewater is then stored in large tanks and tested to verify the vinyl chloride is below the drinking water standard. Norfolk Southern then identifies off-site non-hazardous disposal facilities to accept the treated wastewater.
Despite wastewater undergoing the elaborate process designed to remove vinyl chloride and other derailment contaminants from rainwater that has come into contact with contamination, other communities in the state have voiced opposition in receiving it. Local officials in Coshocton objected to the Buckeye Brine facility receiving water from the derailment. The injection well facility, where non-hazardous wastewater is injected into confined geological formations more than 1-mile below the lowermost drinking water aquifer, announced in August plans to discharge some of the pretreated wastewater from derailment. Coshocton County Commissioners commissioners have also sought consultation in an attempt to legally block Buckeye Brine from accepting and injecting the derailment waste.
Before the construction of the treatment facility, Baltimore council members unanimously adopted a resolution to urge the EPA to reverse the plan to bring the untreated water to the city. In May, it was reported that Clean Harbors, the Baltimore-based facility, would treat the water but with the caveat that the water would be shipped back to Ohio and the company's Cleveland facility for disposal.