With restoration of the natural water flow back into Sulphur Run approved and groundwater at the site no longer considered “hazardous,” the big blue tanks on North Pleasant Drive in East Palestine will be disassembled soon, marking another milestone in cleanup efforts following last year’s Norfolk Southern train derailment. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd, Special to the Times)

EAST PALESTINE — A year-and-a-half after the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, natural water flow will return to Sulphur Run, Norfolk Southern reports.

With regulatory approval processes for both the federal and state Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) complete, the final ditch segment along the tracks was approved to be redirected back into the creek that snakes through East Palestine and feeds into Leslie Run.

“This is a significant restoration milestone and part of the overall efforts to restore the affected areas to pre-derailment conditions,” the railroad reported. “Stormwater will continue to be collected and disposed off-site from the remaining water management areas where decommissioning is currently underway pending regulatory clearance.”

Following last year’s derailment and chemical release, surface water bypassed the derailment site with a series of pipes and pumps. That water was held in a containment pond and later discharged downstream into Leslie Run. Groundwater and stormwater was captured at the site and held in two million-gallon tanks until it could be disposed off offsite. The water collected at the site was considered “hazardous” as it potentially could have come into contact with contaminated soil.

Once the remaining water contained in the blue holding tanks is shipped off site, the tanks will be dismantled and removed.

“Due to the significant reduction of the amount of stormwater requiring collection for off-site management and the ongoing site decommissioning activities, preparations for the disassembly of the large storage tanks along North Pleasant Drive aka ‘the Big Blue Tanks’ will begin,” Norfolk Southern explained. “In the next few weeks, these tanks will be disassembled one at a time as appropriate to maintain necessary capacity to continue to manage site water. As with the other storage tank areas, as the tank containment materials are removed, confirmation sampling will occur in the areas beneath the former tanks followed by regrading and restoration.”

The smaller storage tanks along the eastern end of Martin Street have already been disassembled and the liners transported offsite. Gravel under the liners is in the process of being removed. Confirmation sampling will follow before regrading and restoration.

That confirmation sampling, billed as a “double check” by the EPA, is over 70% complete. Norfolk Southern reminds residents that “if exceedances of final cleanup standards are identified, those areas will undergo additional delineation to ensure all derailment-related chemicals are fully identified and determination of further courses of action.”

As cleanup activities continue and milestones are met, the aesthetics of the village are beginning to look like they did before the rail accident.

“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,” the railroad said.