Standing where there was some work being done yesterday and assume this is where the “spill” occurred.

Ok folks: here is what I received from the OEPA just a few moments ago. Now was that so hard to share with the public?

Good afternoon James Carnahan,

Thank you for contacting us regarding this spill. On Monday, Mar. 4, Ohio EPA Emergency Response was notified of a sanitary sewer line break at PPG’s Barberton facility. Two areas of damaged concrete within the sewer line allowed approximately 200,000 gallons of pre-treated wastewater to seep from the line. At that time, the sewer line was shut down, containment of the area was established, recovery and mitigation efforts were started, and air and water quality monitoring began. The line was repaired, and flow was restored.

Containment and mitigation operations are ongoing and expected to continue throughout this week.

The facility has an on-site pretreatment system designed to neutralize the water before going to the Barberton Wastewater Treatment Plant. This break happened after the pretreatment system and before leaving PPG property. There are no observed impacts to aquatic life in the creek, nor are there any dangers to water quality standards.

During the initial response, Hudson Run was closed by local law enforcement for increased safety to those working alongside the roadway to assess and start cleanup of the spill.

Lisa Cochran
Public Information Office

An added note here: I have sent some follow up questions and look forward to sharing the response.

Update – Response to Follow Up Questions

Good morning James Carnahan,

Thank you for the follow-up questions. PPG reported the spill to Ohio EPA on March 4, 2024 after discovering a failure in one of the lines. PPG believes the failure happened sometime in the past two weeks. Ohio EPA’s Office of Emergency Response responded and determined the spill was a leak, not a catastrophic failure. There are no signs of negative impacts to nearby wildlife from this leak.

PPG pre-treats its wastewater by lowering the pH levels so it doesn’t kill any good bacteria in the water, meeting standards set by Barberton Wastewaster Treatment Plant. This plant is permitted by Barberton, not Ohio EPA. For specifics on the pretreatment, please reach out to PPG.