BALTIMORE — Baltimore is set to receive 675,000 gallons of wastewater from the aftermath of last month's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency approved Baltimore City's Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant to process and discharge the potentially toxic materials.
Before being discharged at Back River, the contaminated water will first go to Baltimore based Clean Harbors to be filtered and pre-treated by carbon adsorption.
According to a letter sent to the City, the water may contain vinyl chloride which can be dangerous when released into the environment.
The hazmat situation following the February 3 Norfolk Southern derailment led to neighborhood evacuations and the death of tens-of-thousands of fish.
Workers in Ohio who've been dealing with the cleanup process have also complained of migraines and nausea.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski on Friday expressed major concern about the proposed operation.
"The County Executive and I have grave concerns about the waste from this derailment coming into our facilities and being discharged into our system," said Scott. "As such, we will exercise additional caution due diligence and ask for additional testing, before authorizing the discharge of any treated water from this event to the public wastewater collection system."
Maryland State Delegates Ryan Nawrocki and Kathy Szeliga, who represent District 7A, echoed those remarks.
"There is no amount of money that could possibly pay to process the toxic cleanup waste from the chemical disaster in Ohio," said Szeliga.
Nawrocki questioned Back River's ability to handle the situation, highlighting past troubles at the plant that ultimately led to a state takeover.
"As a member of the Environment and Transportation Committee, I have heard countless hours of testimony regarding the continual failures at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Dundalk," said Nawrocki. "This treatment plant has a history of sewage overflows. They certainly should not be trusted to process toxic waste into Maryland's greatest natural resource."
Earlier this month, Back River also experienced a fiery explosion. Officials say the incident wouldn't have any impact on the plant's capability to take on this project.
Scott and Olszewski said they'd be seeking a legal opinion from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office before moving forward.
"State and federal officials have assured us they are confident in the facility’s ability to process this material," Scott and Olszewski said in a joint statement. "However, we have tasked our teams to do their due diligence to be certain that there is no risk to the health and safety or our residents and our environment."
Governor Wes Moore's office also issued this statement.
"The safety of Marylanders is the governor’s highest priority. The water from East Palestine being treated by Clean Harbors is not at levels that would be considered hazardous waste but out of an abundance of caution, the state is treating it as such to ensure our communities are safe. Clean Harbors is a world class facility in Baltimore, and they are well-equipped to handle this project. The administration will continue to work with the federal government to ensure we have the resources and manpower needed to handle treatment in a secure manner."
