East Palestine Village Council is about to make a decision that could negatively impact the entire Ohio River Valley and we need YOUR help to stop it from happening!

They are currently considering accepting "treated" wastewater from Norfolk Southern's "temporary" wastewater treatment facility that was set up just months after the train derailment that exposed community members to vinyl chloride, benzene, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and more.

If they accept the wastewater for treatment, the water will be discharged into Leslie Run, which flows into Little Beaver Creek and, ultimately, into the Ohio River. The Ohio River Basin is a drinking source for five million people and a recreational source for 30 million people. We can't let the possibility of additional pollutants entering our waterways happen. Please sign, share and help us protect the Ohio River Valley!

East Palestine Village Council and Water Superintendent Scott Wolfe seemed unable, and sometimes just unwilling, to answer basic questions from residents at a public meeting in December.

History

In August, East Palestine Water Superintendent Scott Wolfe presented a proposal to accept and discharge a portion of the water currently being treated at Norfolk Southern’s "temporary" wastewater treatment facility. That facility began operations in September, and the Ohio EPA determined that the first batch of water treated no longer contained hazardous waste. With the wastewater no longer labeled as “hazardous,” there are less restrictions on how that water could be disposed.

According to the 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 and Scott Wolfe said that some profits could help "keep bills down."

The EPA explained how Norfolk Southern's 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.

However, some communities have still voiced opposition to receiving the water.

Buckeye Brine, an injection well facility, announced its plans to discharge some of the treated wastewater from the derailment in August. Local officials quickly objected and county commissioners even sought consultation to legally block the facility from accepting and injecting the derailment waste.

Prior to the construction of Norfolk Southern's "temporary" facility, Baltimore council members unanimously adopted a resolution to urge the EPA to reverse the plan to bring the untreated water to the city. This happened after they learned in May 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.

A facility in Huntington, West Virginia is also considering discharging derailment wastewater into the Ohio River.

Concerns

- Leslie Run's sediment is already contaminated with a variety of pollution from the derailment and additional discharge coming through it may pull those pollutants out from the bottom and send them downstream into the Ohio River

- The facility isn't experienced and doesn't have extensive abilities for continuous analysis of highly contaminated wastewater

- The community has yet to see the entire proposal, standard operating procedures, best management procedures, training plan, technical staff information and/or safety protocols

- Council would not guarantee that water fees would decrease for community members

- Council would not answer how much money the village will receive from Norfolk Southern

- Long-term stewardship of the facility may become a financial burden to the community

- The facility could be sued by community members for violating the Clean Water Act if the facility exceeds its NPDES permit

Unanswered Questions

- Will the community have time to overlook the entire plan?

- Who makes the final decision on if this happens?

- Define “wastewater"

- What/How are they testing wastewater before acceptance?

- What chemicals are they testing for? (there still seems to be unknown pollutants)

- Will it be tested for radioactive materials?

- Who is testing the wastewater before acceptance? (shouldn’t be Norfolk Southern)

- What happens if the water delivered is still contaminated?

- Where does the filter contaminants go after it’s taken out of the water?

- Where does the treated water go?

- What steps are in place to ensure the wastewater doesn’t end up in the drinking supply?

- Has an engineer confirmed that the facility can handle a higher volume of wastewater?

- Who pays for updating the treatment facility after its extensive use?

- Who pays for extra maintenance?

- Who pays for long term needs to update the equipment more frequently?

- Will additional staff be hired?

- Who pays for the extra staff needed?

- Will they be experienced in handling contaminated wastewater?

- Will they be trained on how to handle contaminated wastewater?

- What extra precautions will be in place to keep them safe?

- Have you consulted an attorney to see how this would impact your existing NPDES permit?

- Do you understand that community members could sue you for Clean Water Act violations, if you exceed your NPDES permit?

- Will water fees decrease for community members? If so, by how much? If so, for how long?

- How much will the village be paid per truckload of water?

- How will the village spend the money received?