Athens City Council discusses water safety in response to East Palestine train derailment
Athens City Council discussed the effect of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine on Athens water sources at its Monday night meeting.
Service Safety Director Andrew Stone assured there was a limited risk of Athens’ water sources being polluted by the chemicals spilled following the derailment. Stone cited a press release published by The Athens Messenger last week which called the situation in East Palestine a “devastating ecological disaster” and described Athens' water safety protections.
Athens has 17 groundwater wells, Stone said. Each well is 60 feet deep with a motor at the bottom moving water from underground up to the surface. The water is then sent to the Athens Wastewater Treatment Plant, Stone explained. For the chemicals released in the East Palestine derailment to reach Athens’s groundwater sources, they would have to be able to remain potent for a long period of time.
Chemicals transported on the train tracks near the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway and when those trains pass through are continuously monitored. Athens’ water is monitored by a water source protection program composed of a team of city officials, health department officials, and outside consultants, according to the release.
One of the aquifers sourcing the wells is located near those tracks and if a derailment were to happen in that area, those wells would be closed off and monitored regularly for pollutants, Stone explained.
Stone said the biggest risk for Athenians in a similar situation would be air pollution, because “there would be no way to regulate that.” Residents would most likely have to evacuate the city if this were the case, as those in East Palestine did.
In other news, the council discussed construction plans for a Starbucks and Chipotle located on 90 E State St. The restaurants would replace a used car dealer that has not had cars for sale in the lot for an extended period of time. The lot sits across from Advance Auto Parts and Pizza Cottage and will allow room for drive-thru service that is currently not offered at the other restaurant locations uptown.
Construction is expected to begin in late spring and with the new joint restaurant planned to open between September and December of this year.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson announced plans to propose an ordinance banning flavored tobacco products similar to the one recently passed in Columbus. Patterson stated he believes vaping to be a serious health concern amongst young Athens residents.
The council also heard a first reading of an ordinance that would allow Patterson to opt-in to the participation of the national opioid settlements reached by the state with several pharmaceutical companies and distributors. The exact amount of settlement funds the city could receive has yet to be determined, as it is an opt-in program available to all counties in Ohio, according to City Council President Chris Knisley. A portion of the funds would be put towards rehabilitation efforts based on participation agreements, Knisley said. Rules were suspended on grounds of time restriction and the ordinance was passed on its first reading.
