Though cleanup crews have largely left East Palestine, Ohio, following a massive Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent chemical spill last year, there remains some cleanup left at the site of the derailment on East Taggart Street.
For one local business, it’s prevented business as usual for an entire year.
“It’s like it’s been 10 years. There’s a lot of nothingness in our life; we can’t plan a thing,” says Kelly Berresford, who owns the State Line Tavern with her husband Terry Berresford. “Our whole life was taken away from us, really. We’re just the only ones in town that can’t open. Everyone else is functioning and open, and there are no answers for us, none at all. And it’s a terrible feeling.”
The Berresfords’ property, located just down the block from the train derailment site which grabbed headlines around the world last February, has become a cleanup zone. Following the derailment, thousands of gallons of chemicals like polyvinyl, polyethylene and butyl acrylates seeped from damaged train cars into the surrounding land and waterways.
Trucks and tankers have used the State Line Tavern's parking lot, Kelly says, preventing the business owners from even accessing the building some days.
“They’re storing the water across the street from me in big tankers. It hasn't been moved out yet,” Kelly says. “They’re still messing with the dirt back there. I heard that they've run into some different problems, finding some more contamination, but you can't get any answers.”
We heard from the State Line Tavern a few months after the derailment for our feature story “ The Nightmare in East Palestine,” which was the July cover story of Cleveland Magazine. In the story, Kelly details her experience working at the bar when the derailment occurred, just outside of their building — and about what the next few weeks were like for her and Terry.
Since then, the tavern missed out on its biggest season, catering to local motorcyclists and bikers who frequent the establishment in the summer. Kelly says she heard from cleanup crews that they had to turn down “thousands” of bikes attempting to reach the closed tavern during its peak time of year.
“That was sad to hear. I’m happy to hear that they’re still coming, but it was sad to miss out on all the business and just seeing everybody again,” Kelly says.
Currently, the Berresfords expect to be able to reopen their business in the summer, though the date has continuously been pushed back.
“It just goes on and on. We’re ground zero. Everything is run out of my parking lot, behind me, on each side of me, and across the street from me. … All the trucks run through, they're taking out all the water, everything is going through my backyard,” Kelly says.
“We're just kind of a limbo over here,” she adds. “But we'll be okay, one way or another.”
RELATED: The Nightmare in East Palestine
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