Residents in Columbiana County are getting more help to ensure the safety of their drinking water.

Homes that are downstream from the East Palestine train derailment that happened last year and the chemical spill site will soon be able to participate in a private well sampling program.

According to a news release from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the goal of the program is to ensure residential well water in the county is safe to drink where municipal water is not available.

The project, called the "East Palestine Derailment Response - Residential Well Sampling Project," will provide the Columbiana County Health District with $2 million to provide sampling to 250 residential wells and operate the program using an independent laboratory and local staff.

Brown's office states this is to improve transparency by providing a third party contractor and not a corporate contractor provided by Norfolk Southern.

"The Columbiana County Health District is extremely grateful for this funding opportunity to expand the work we have been doing alongside our local, state, and federal partners to ensure the families and businesses of the East Palestine area have safe drinking water. Our agency appreciates the hard work of all of the people who made this possible, and we look forward to utilizing these funds to meet the ongoing recovery needs of our community," said Dr. Wesley Vins, Health Commissioner, Columbiana County Health District.