Site Progress
Norfolk Southern team members remain on scene, assisted by multiple derailment and environmental contractors. Every step of the way, we are coordinating with federal, state and local agencies.
We will see this through
Our work isn’t finished.
74M gallons of water recovered and transported offsite
216,858 tons of waste soil removed
Flushed 5,200 feet of impacted waterways
1,722 drinking water wells sampled
7 DAY LOOKAHEAD
Site Remediation
— East End of the Response Area:
—— Additional delineation activities continue near the OH-PA state line north of Taggart Street with soil, sediment, and groundwater sampling to the north, south, and between the tracks, and in the wetlands area to the north of the tracks. Concurrent with sampling, targeted excavation activities will begin in identified areas with low-level exceedances of screening criteria.
—— As work is performed, the community should anticipate additional remediation equipment and truck traffic on Taggart Street. The associated traffic will continue for the next several weeks.
— Decommissioning continues:
—— Frac Tank Farms. The tank farm equipment and rig mats in Tank Farm 3 continue to be cleaned and staged for offsite transportation.
—— Smaller Storage Tanks. Confirmation sampling has been completed and approved. This area will be graded and revegetated as part of the ongoing site restoration. Rain water collected in the former tank containment has been approved for flow to Sulphur Run.
—— Former Big Blue Tank Area. The gravel subbase on top of the containment liner has been removed, and confirmation sampling has been completed with three discrete areas of low-level exceedance were identified beneath the containment area. These areas will undergo additional delineation to ensure derailment-related chemicals are fully identified prior to removal. After removal activities are complete, the area will be regraded and restored.
—— Onsite Water Treatment Plant. Equipment decommissioning and confirmation sampling has been completed.
— Final confirmation soil sampling is nearly 95% complete. If exceedances of final cleanup standards are identified, those areas will undergo additional delineation to ensure derailment-related chemicals are fully identified and to determine any further courses of action. The ongoing decommissioning activities continue to make additional areas available for sampling.
— Nine areas of low-level exceedances identified during the Appendix E investigations to date have been removed and disposed as non-hazardous waste. The identified remaining areas shall continue to be addressed over the next couple of weeks.
— Air monitoring for worker personal sampling continues sitewide. Analytical sampling and air monitoring continue within the tank farms, around the discrete areas of excavation, and in association with the sheet pile removal operation. This includes perimeter sampling and monitoring.
— Ongoing monitoring of surface water, groundwater, and drinking water wells continues.
Site Restoration
— Regrading, restoration, and topsoil backfill in Tank Farms 5 and 6 is complete.
— Crews continue grading and backfilling excavated areas, reconstructing ditches, and installing stormwater infrastructure as part of efforts to return the site to pre-derailment conditions.
— Ditch and stormwater infrastructure restoration activities continue along the tracks to the east and west of N. Pleasant Drive.
— Grading, restoration, and topsoil backfilling activities continue on both sides of the tracks to the east of N. Pleasant Drive.
— Continued removal of some sheet pile utilized to support excavation activities in areas near the tracks and former waste storage areas.
Stream Work
— Crews completed the Fall round of sediment assessment; the associated sheen evaluations will be performed as water flow conditions allow.
Regulatory Oversight
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Columbiana County General Health District
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
- National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
- Ohio Department of Health (ODH)
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR)
- Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA)
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP)
- United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)