EAST PALESTINE FEMA to help fix sewage plant damaged by flooding in May

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide $945,500 to help repair the sewage treatment plant in East Palestine that was damaged during last May's flooding.
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, said the funds are the first phase of a two-phase grant that could amount to about $1.5 million in federal funding. Phase two of the funding will be disbursed after the first of the year pending final plans and cost estimates being developed by the city, Strickland said.
Although the plant resumed service shortly after the floods, the city has been working to assess the full extent of the damages. FEMA approved the needed repairs to restore the plant to pre-disaster condition, and the engineering and design of repairs to the Leslie Run Channel, which was also damaged by the May flooding.
Phase one funding will be used to reimburse the city for emergency pumping and repairs, and to make permanent repairs on the plants operating systems, including cleaning and/or replacing pumps and electrical systems, aeration and storage tanks, and plant piping. Phase two of the funding will cover the costs of restoring and improving the channel to assist in long-term mitigation to reduce potential damages from future flooding events.