EAST PALESTINE — Citing “reduced site activities” in the remediation efforts to clean up from last year’s Norfolk Southern train derailment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other members of Unified Command made “the decision to formally transition to a Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group on June 28.

“This transition is typical of long-term emergency responses and signifies great progress,” the EPA said.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), both unified command and MAC groups are part of the incident management structure of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS guides all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from incidents. Unified Command is established to make decisions in the response period whereas MAC are more focused on recovery.

The transition is more organizational than anything.

“Representatives from all Unified Command organizations (EPA, Ohio EPA, Columbiana County, East Palestine, and Norfolk Southern), as well as assisting agencies, will continue to meet weekly to receive progress updates, discuss and coordinate work plans and ongoing field activities until they are completed,” the EPA said.

Oversight will remain in both the federal and state EPA’s hands.

“As EPA and Ohio EPA continue to have legal jurisdiction over the cleanup, sampling and monitoring work under legal instruments such as a consent decree, orders and permits, both agencies will continue to have personnel on site and will be closely involved in day-to-day activities,” the EPA explained.

The biggest difference in the restructuring will be in how and when information is relayed to the public.

“Public communications will be shared as needed instead of weekly, and a Joint Information Center will no longer be used,” the EPA said. “Information on the status of the project will continue to be kept current on EPA’s website. Operational updates, including a weekly ‘look ahead,’ will be provided by Norfolk Southern on their website.”

Chris Hunsicker, Regional Manager of Environmental Operations at Norfolk Southern, said last week updates will be posted on a recurring basis to nsmakingitright.com under the Site Progress Tab. It is an effort to better communicate with the community and make residents aware of what work is being performed and what is expected in the short-term future.

The EPA Welcome Center remains accessible by appointment only. To make an appointment, call EPA’s information line at 330-775-6517. Questions can also be sent to r5–eastpalestine@epa.gov.

selverd@mojonews.com