Praise, Concern Raised at CSX Derailment Meeting

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Tom Drake, Pam Thevenow, Mike Sutton and John Ball answered questions about the derailment at Friday's meeting.
Photo by Jay Thompson

(posted Jan 12)

Residents affected by the January 6 CSX train derailment would have rather heard there was no information to disseminate than being totally ignored to make their own assumptions of safety.

Residents finally had a chance on January 11 to meet with officials from the county Emergency Management Agency, IDEM, CSX, Marion County Heath Department, and Wayne Township Fire Department about their concerns. Concerned residents fired off questions about water safety, soil contamination, property values, and structural integrity.

The train derailment happened in the heart of City County Councilor Robert Lutz's district, but he noted to his "surprise" that no one had called him concerning the issue. Lutz has attended the daily derailment situation meetings that also involved officials from the DNR and EPA. Lutz and Emergency Management Director John Ball agreed a public meeting was necessary to update everyone on the type and amounts of chemicals spilled.

Officials said that the amounts of corn syrup, soybean oil, liquid fertilizer, lube oil and diesel fuel are smaller than first estimated. IDEM's on scene coordinator, Mike Sutton, showed a slide presentation that highlighted containment efforts underway to remove chemicals and contaminated water and soil in the areas.  The affected area extends close to one mile along the tracks.  Sutton said residents can contact IDEM's emergency report line at 888.233.7745 if they have ongoing environmental concerns about the derailment.

Resident Dawn Milligan, a former EMT, was disappointed that no command center for the public was set up to explain the situation to residents about the clean up. She pointed out that this type of information would give "the whole neighborhood a peace of mind."

Captain Troy Wymer of the Wayne Township Fire Department explained that it may not be practical to have a command center for the public to constantly be "rapping on the door" because of the urgency to clean up the hazardous material. Deputy Chief John Garino indicated the system is not perfect about getting out the message, but for now they rely on the TV and radio media to get the message out as quickly as possible. Garino explained the hazmat unit determined the area was safe from harmful gases, so an evacuation was not needed. They determined it was better not to knock on doors at 4 am. Garino said it was determined it would be better if people sheltered in place, where residents remain in their homes, but the situation posed no health threats if they went outdoors.

Residents were not sure about water safety since they rely on wells as their water source. Pam Thevenow of the Marion County Health Department said the department has taken 16 samples that are being analyzed by the state's lab. Results should be known in two weeks. She invited residents to contact the department at 317.221.2266 to test their water if they are concerned. However, one resident was not comfortable to wait two weeks to get the results back. He was upset that it meant spending his own money to buy bottled water because of CSX's derailment that sent hazardous materials into the area.

Thevenow explained that it is doubtful that contaminants could leach through the ground into the water that quickly. That is the reason the board of health will take more samples at a later time. She said she is working on another incident that involved a salt pile that has taken ten years to leach into the water supply. She said if she thought the residents here involved with the CSX incident were endanger she would tell them not to use the water.

Merri Anderson of the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhoods Association wanted to know if CSX had a disaster plan posted with local officials in case the next derailment involved noxious gas. She also wanted to know how the city plans to notify people if such an incident occurred. She said people can sign up for EMA alert messages.

Garrick Francis of CSX said a pilot program is being tested with Kentucky, New York and New Jersey that provides access for local government agencies to obtain data about the cargo traveling through their communities. He said that all of the engineers have a manifest of the products on board in case of an incident. CSX provides a Community Awareness Planning Guide to local responders.

EMA director John Ball said the county is planning on implementing a mass notification system and the request for proposals would be going out in the next three months.  During the fire storms in San Diego County in October over 350,000 residents received evacuation notices by the county's reverse 911 and alerting systems.

Resident Darlene Etter was concerned about her vegetable garden that abuts the tracks She said her garden is located about 100 yards from the liquid fertilizer. She is concerned whether or not she can plant this year and if it would be safe to consume her garden vegetables.

Jennifer Crittenden is concerned about her property values, being an adjacent property owner to CSX. She said she was going to make a room addition, but will probably scrap the plans because of the unknowns of the contamination and potential future train derailments.

Another resident was concerned about the structural integrity of his home. He said the collision between the two trains felt like an earthquake. No other residents claimed a loss of property as a result of the tremor. Tom Drake of CSX said the corporation has a claims department if resident feel that they have been harmed or suffered a loss from the incident. Neither IDEM or CSX would make comments about property values.

Drake said CSX is taking full responsibility and will pay for the clean up and the costs incurred by the agencies.
Residents with damages can call CSX claims adjuster Larry Newton at 317.267.4015. Lutz said about 5000 cubic yards of soil will be remediated. There is also a concern about Julia Creek and later affects on the aquatic and plant life there since it was filled with soy bean oil.

None of the government agencies or CSX had any home page web articles devoted to the incident. Only the Marion County Health Dept had a news release posted on the web concerning the meeting.

Resident Mike Estridge's commendation of the crews for their quick containment of the incident drew a round of applause from the audience of 80 plus in room.  Councilor Lutz said there would be a follow up meeting scheduled in two to three months.