EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - Norfolk Southern reports that it has finished physical restoration activities at the site of the 2023 train derailment. The railroad company reported that it has removed equipment and temporary work trailers from the village.

"I think that the community is going to welcome that reduction in traffic, reduction in construction noise and the visible reminder that something here happened, and I think we're ready to move on from that," said Village manager Antonio Diaz-Guy.

While the primary cleanup operations have concluded, residents may still see crews on-site infrequently performing maintenance. The company stated that monitoring surface water, groundwater, and drinking water will continue according to schedules defined in established work plans.

"I think our water is probably cleaner now than it was 100 years ago, given our industrial past especially mining, pottery," Diaz-Guy added.

Norfolk Southern also submitted a final assessment report regarding Sulphur Run and Leslie Run to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval. This document outlines completed cleanup efforts and results from recent sediment sampling. The report notes that crews did not observe any oily sheens related to the derailment on either stream during the final inspection.

While the village manager is confident in both the results from the rail company, and having reassurance from the EPA, not all residents feel the same way.

"I think they are getting away with doing less work than they should be," said Christina Siceloff, a creek ranger who's taken part in independent testing of the two major waterways in East Palestine, and isn't confident in the railroad's results. "I'd like to continue to see results from Norfolk Southern, from the EPA so that we can compare them to our own," Siceloff added.

This announcement follows a year of extensive remediation efforts in the waterways. In May, officials focused cleanup operations on removing contaminated sediment from the streams that wind through residential and commercial areas of the village.

The EPA must review and approve the final report to verify that the work plan goals have been met.