EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — After the Environmental Protection Agency ordered a temporary stoppage rail for company Norfolk Southern's contaminated shipments going to Michigan and Texas and approved two sites in Ohio to resume after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February.
Solid waste will be shipped to East Liverpool, Ohio, and liquid waste will be shipped to Vickery, Ohio.
Some Michiganders were disappointed over the weekend when they found out about the waste being shipped to facilities around them before the EPA halted the deliveries.
On Monday, Ohio Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, said he is disappointed after finding out waste was being to shipped to the Sandusky County community because he didn't know it was happening in the area he represents and is concerned for residents' safety.
"I found out through national media that it was coming to Vickery, I would've liked to find that out other ways," Click said.
He said he took action immediately, requesting answers for himself and his constituents by calling Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the EPA and even visiting the Vickery Deepwater Waste Treatment Facility which takes the waste and deposits it thousands of feet underground.
Click said he wants to make sure it does not affect the Lake Erie watershed when they transport the waste, either.
"If we can handle it properly, and we can handle it safely then that's all good," Click said. "But we deserve to know, we deserve to have answers to those questions, the public deserves to be informed."
Click said he has an appointment at the waste management site on Tuesday. Vickery Environmental, Inc. emailed WTOL 11 a statement Monday:
"The health and safety of the local community is at the forefront of all Vickery Environmental operations. The Ohio EPA has a Vickery Environmental Fact Sheet: https://epa.ohio.gov/static/Portals/28/documents/uic/VEIfactsheet2018.pdf that provides relevant information regarding your inquiry. While we acknowledge that some of this information may be outdated, the science and safety of the processes at Vickery Environmental remain the same, and the facility continues to operate under the highest standards, with strict oversight and permitting of both the Ohio EPA and US EPA. Additionally, here is an updated report out on recent volumes in 2022 – 29,234,120 gallons.
Vickery Environmental is not responsible for the transportation of this waste material. Any further questions you have regarding transportation or location selection, please inquire directly with the US EPA, or Sandusky County as they are coordinating the emergency response at this time."
The Sandusky County Emergency Management Agency also addressed the shipments to the Vickery plant in a press release on Monday, saying that in 1990, the EPA determined injected waste will not migrate vertically out of the designated injection zone and not more than five miles laterally from the well in a period of 10,000 years.
SCEMA also said Vickery Environmental, Inc. was contracted to accept the overflow water from the East Palestine incident site, and that it's the type of work they do every day through their injection processes.
DeWine's office said Friday that over 100,000 gallons of liquid waste and 4,500 cubic yards of solid waste still remain at the East Palestine site.