Newsletter: East Palestine Train Derailment Response, 6-20-2023
Newsletter serving Serving East Palestine, Negley, Darlington, and surrounding communities
- Progress Made
- The Week Ahead
- Community Corner
- Site Status Check
- Top 3 Questions of the Week
- Upcoming Community Events
Progress Made
Car Scrapping Area Sheet Pile Installation and Soil Excavations
Crews have begun work in the car scrapping areas north and south of the tracks. The north area (see Car Scrapping Area 3 in orange on the map on page 3 and 4), will have piles of debris removed and then 1 foot of soil will be excavated. The soil will be sampled and characterized before being properly disposed of off-site. Sheet piling installation has begun in the south area (see Car Scrapping Area 4 on page 3 and 4) and crews will operate extended hours, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., until work is complete. If you notice any odors or have noise concerns during this operation, please call 330-849-3919.
Train Traffic
North Track - Excavation underneath the north track is complete and the north rail line has been rebuilt. Train traffic resumed on the north line Friday June 16.
South Track - The south track closed on Monday, June 19 to complete excavation under Pleasant Drive. Pleasant Drive is temporarily closed, and residents are encouraged to use James Street as an alternative route. The south track excavation and rebuild is expected to be complete by Monday, June 26 and train traffic will resume normal operation.
Air Monitoring
With the completion of track excavation, EPA removed 8 of 23 stationary air monitoring locations. These 8 locations were located furthest away from the work area and have had no work-related detections throughout excavation activities. The 15 remaining EPA air monitoring locations that remain still surround the entire work zone up to ½ mile away. The graphic below shows key actions in the coming week.
The Week Ahead
At the Site
- Both the north and south track will resume full operations for the duration of the cleanup work.
- North Ditch sidewall excavation is complete and sheet pile is being installed in the South Ditch with an access road being built to allow access to the area (see North and South Ditch in light blue in above map).
- Work is complete at Mainline 1 and 2 (Areas 1, 2, 3, and 4 on map above), Burn pit areas (red-lined boxes) and Center Line (areas marked in black).
- Car Scrapping area work will continue (see orange areas on above map).
- Truck traffic continues near the derailment site. Waste shipments will continue through the summer (see waste pile areas in yellow) and roll-off boxes will continue to be transported off site. Collection and disposal of contaminated runoff water will continue.
- Taggart Street remains closed to the public.
In the Greater Community
- EPA air monitoring continues at 15 locations around town.
- Stream assessments of Sulphur Run and Leslie Run are continuing, with stream washing occurring when there is enough water in the runs to conduct activities.
- EPA’s Community Welcome Center at 25 North Market Street in East Palestine remains open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Community Corner
Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania are home to many farmers and ranchers. Recently, EPA and other agencies supporting the response visited two area farms to learn more about their operations. Baker’s Golden Dairy in New Waterford uses two robots to milk their Holstein cows. The process is very efficient as cows walk up to the machines on their own when they are ready for milking. In Darlington, Tall Pines Farm raises grassfed hair sheep and has over 40 head of cattle. The animals rotationally graze, first the cattle and then the sheep.
Site Status Check
as of June 16
-
North Track:
Tracks operational
South Track: Temporarily closed
during the Pleasant Street
excavation work -
Leslie Run: Stream washing occurring when there is enough water in run
Sulphur Run: Stream washing when enough water and bypass carries upstream water past derailment site - 20.7 million est. gallons of wastewater shipped offsite
-
Top 3 Questions of the Week
Upcoming Community Events
On June 20, The Way Station and First United Presbyterian Church will host a Public Health Resource Information Session from 6 to 7 p.m. at 109 Rebecca Street in East Palestine. East Liverpool Hospital, the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County, and Columbiana County Mental Health will present on health resources and services available for residents.
- To watch recordings of earlier informational sessions, check out the “Videos and Photos” section.