EPA Stops Norfolk Southern From Shipping Waste to Michigan, Texas

Norfolk Southern has been transporting previously excavated soil off site from East Palestine, Ohio, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, but when Michigan and Texas got wind they would be taking it in from Ohio, the stop was put in.

The EPA has taken over the handling of the potentially toxic waste from the Feb. 3 train derailment and "controlled release," instead of spreading it across the United States, according to reports.

Harris County, Texas, was reportedly going to take in 2 million gallons of firefighting water and had already taken in half a million gallons, CNN reported.

"It's a very real problem, we were told [Wednesday] the materials were coming only to learn today they've been here for a week," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told CNN.

Norfolk Southern "had been solely responsible for the disposal of waste generated by the East Palestine train derailment" until Friday, according to the EPA, bu now the waste disposal "will be subject to EPA review and approval moving forward," according to the report.

Soil taken from East Palestine was heading to U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville, Michigan, according to Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.

"I called everybody," Dingell told CNN. "Nobody had really been given a heads up that they were coming here.

"When I learned of this yesterday, the first call that I got, I immediately called the governor's office, assuming that they would know about it," she said. "What quickly became evident is that none of the elected officials, none of the local officials, knew that this material was on its way.

There have been 4,832 cubic yards of soil removed from the ground in East Palestine and loaded on to six trucks heading to Michigan, according to Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine.

Texas' Hidalgo told CNN she learned of the wastewater coming to Texas through the media, instead of public officials or contractors.

Federal environmental authorities have ordered a temporary halt in the shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment earlier this month in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line.

Region 5 administrator Debra Shore of the Environmental Protection Agency said Saturday the agency ordered Norfolk Southern to "pause" shipments from the site of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine but vowed removal of the material would resume "very soon."

"Everyone wants this contamination gone from the community. They don't want the worry, and they don’t want the smell, and we owe it to the people of East Palestine to move it out of the community as quickly as possible," Shore said.

"EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and lawful manner at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of hazardous substances and impacts to communities." She said officials had heard concerns from residents and others in a number of states and were reviewing “the transport of some of this waste over long distances and finding the appropriate permitted and certified sites to take the waste.”

Shore said the EPA was not involved in the decision to do the controlled burn, but she called it a "well-founded" decision by local and state officials based on the information they had at the time "to deal with a highly explosive toxic chemical."

Federal and state officials have repeatedly said it is safe for evacuated residents to return to the area and air testing in the town and inside hundreds of homes has not detected any concerning levels of contaminants from the fires or burned chemicals. The state says the local municipal drinking water system is safe, and bottled water is available while testing is conducted for those with private wells.

Despite those assurances and a bevy of news conferences and visits from politicians, many residents still express a sense of mistrust or have lingering questions about what they have been exposed to and how it will impact the future of their families and their communities.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.