Debris from a Norfolk Southern freight train lies scattered and burning along the tracks, Feb. 4, 2023, the day after it derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

EAST PALESTINE — With the decommission of most of the response infrastructure in East Palestine in the wake of the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment complete, the ground under the now-dismantled structures is the focus of continuing cleanup efforts, the railroad said in its latest remediation update.

Activities are focused on the derailment water containment areas. Those include the frac tank farms, smaller storage tank areas and the place on North Pleasant Drive where the two million-gallon blue tanks stood.

The railroad reported that “sampling identified one discrete area of low-level exceedance of cleanup standards” in the frac tank farm. The soil from that area will be “removed within the next few weeks.”

Three areas of exceedance were identified on North Pleasant with two areas already having undergone additional sampling “to ensure derailment-related chemicals are fully identified prior to excavation.”

The final area is anticipated to be completed within the next few weeks. Confirmation sampling of the smaller storage tank area is now complete and approved.

“This area will now be graded and revegetated as part of the ongoing site restoration,” Norfolk Southern reported.

All told, confirmation soil sampling — also known as Appendix E meant to double check areas that were already declared clean — identified 13 areas where derailment-related compounds, including vinyl chloride, were still detected. All 13 have undergone additional delineation. Once that process is complete, the areas shall be excavated and the materials disposed of over the next few weeks. That means more trucks in town as dirt is hauled out.

“Additional updates on the schedule of the remediation and related activity will be provided as plans are finalized,” Norfolk Southern said. “The community should anticipate additional remediation equipment and truck traffic on Taggart Street.”

The railroad also reported that sampling activities are nearly complete near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line north of Taggart Street, areas between the tracks that exceeded screening levels are being excavated, and rain water collected in the former tank containment space has been approved for flow to Sulphur Run.

Crews will continue grading and backfilling excavated areas, reconstructing ditches and installing stormwater infrastructure on the south of the tracks to the east of North Pleasant Drive. Analytical sampling and air monitoring will continue within the tank farms, around the discrete areas of excavation and in association with the sheet-pile operations removal. This includes perimeter sampling and monitoring.

To date and by Norfolk Southern’s calculations, 74 million gallons of water have been captured and disposed of offsite, 216,904 tons of soil (2,389 more since the railroad’s last update) have been dug up and removed, 5,200 feet of impacted waterways have been flushed and 1,782 drinking water wells sampled.

Remediation updates can be followed at nsmakingitright.com under the “Site Progress” tab.