CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, and a legislative committee all provided updates Thursday on potential environmental impacts on West Virginia communities along the Ohio River due to a chemical leak from a train derailment in Eastern Ohio.

A 50-car train derailment last week near East Palestine, Ohio, caused a hazardous chemical leak from some of the train cars. The train was owned by Norfolk Southern.

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, low levels of butyl acrylate — which is used to manufacture plastics and resins — reached the Ohio River through Little Beaver Creek, a small tributary located near the Ohio and Pennsylvania border. The plume has traveled nearly the entirety of West Virginia’s border with Ohio, with the plume expected to reach Huntington by Friday evening or Saturday morning.

According to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, a multi-state coalition that monitors the water quality and health of the Ohio River, the amount of chemicals from the leak are far below risk guidance numbers of 560 parts per billion for drinking water, with levels detected at two parts per billion. But communities along the Ohio River are still taking precautions and monitoring the plume.

In Huntington, West Virginia American Water finished an alternative intake to temporarily use water from the Guyandotte River, installing pumping equipment and running more than 3,700 feet of pipe to connect the new intake to the Huntington Water Treatment Plant. West Virginia American Water serves more than 587,000 customers across the state, but the Huntington Water Treatment Plant serves Cabell and Wayne counties.

The House Technology and Infrastructure Committee heard a presentation Thursday afternoon from officials with West Virginia American Water and the state Department of Environmental Protection on the potential effects of the East Palestine train derailment and chemical leak on West Virginia.

West Virginia American Water President Robert Burton told committee members that the rainfall Thursday and Friday would help dilute the chemical plume plus also increase the speed of the flow of the Ohio River, helping further dilute the plume and move quickly further down the river.

“It will definitely provide dilution to the Ohio River. It will also actually increase velocity on the river, which could cause this chemical to dilute and move through quicker,” Burton said. “We’re also monitoring water levels themselves along the Guyandotte where we have temporary pumping in expectation of those river levels peaking over the next coming days. We don’t anticipate they will be a problem at this point for our temporary pumping facility.”

DEP Deputy Secretary Scott Mandirola also joined Justice on his virtual administration briefing Thursday to brief residents on the state’s response to the East Palestine chemical leak. Justice said the state Division of Emergency Management and the West Virginia National Guard, the DEP, and others have provided assistance to Ohio.

“We have to stay right on top of this. We would absolutely do that no matter what,” Justice said. “Thankfully, this far there are no danger to our drinking water and everything … we continue to get all the updates in the world. I promise you to God above, everybody knows from my direction we’re going to keep our citizens very, very safe.”

Mandirola said the DEP has been coordinating with the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, the Ohio Environment Protection Agency, and the U.S. EPA on monitoring the chemical plume, with tests conducted Wednesday between Parkersburg and Ravenswood. He said the plume was passing Point Pleasant on Thursday.

“The highest concentration observed Wednesday was below the three parts per billion,” Mandirola said. “The influx of water from the Kanawha River should add at least 25% additional dilution on top of the dilution added from the current rain event which will be helpful as this moves downstream.”

Mandirola also said that air monitoring at the site of the East Palestine derailment has not detected any concentrations of contaminants above health advisory levels. DEP air monitoring stations in the Northern Panhandle have also not detected any impacts on air quality linked to the derailment.

Matt Christiansen, commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Public Health and State Health Officer, said the state has worked closely with local communities along the Ohio River that provide drinking water, as well as private companies such as West Virginia American Water, to offer guidance.

“Based on the successful collaboration we’ve had here across state government and with federal partners and other states, we have not had any reports of this substance entering the water supply in any of the affected areas and there are no water advisories being issued at this time based on the successful results of that collaboration,” Christiansen said.

Speaking during a virtual briefing from Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, Capito, R-W.Va., said she had been briefed on the latest information about the derailment and environmental issues. She recalled the 2014 spill of a coal-cleaning agent from a leaking storage tank into the Elk River that entered West Virginia American Water’s intake causing the water system serving multiple counties to shut down while the system was flushed.

“We know from experience that chemical spills into the water are extremely alarming,” Capito said. “To think that your groundwater or your drinking water has a chemical in it that is considered to be unsafe for drinking is very, very concerning.”

The ranking Republican member of the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee and a long-time member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Capito said Congress would likely be investigating the accident soon through multiple committees.

“I think the situation in the clean-up of this is going to be going on for years. I don’t think it goes away this week or next week if they pull all the debris out,” Capito said. “I think there’s going to be a question as we move forward about the groundwater. I will say at this point with the testing it has looked as though the levels are below detectable, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to stay that way and that doesn’t mean that everything has been comprehensively tested either.”

Capito was also critical of Norfolk Southern for not attending a town hall Wednesday to answer questions and concerns from the public. Norfolk Southern officials backed out of attending the town hall over alleged concerns for their own safety.

“Norfolk Southern will pay for this, both monetarily and probably in other ways in turn. I think that is a given. If they don’t, then I think the powers that be — Congress or otherwise — will come in with a heavy hand there. To be perfectly honest with you, I think they made a major mistake by not going to that town hall meeting. Unless the threats were just way over the top, I think there are ways to protect yourself in a meeting. I think people want to talk to you; they want to tell you. They want you to listen.”

In a statement Thursday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., leveled criticism at EPA Administrator Michael Regan, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for their handling of the disaster.

“While I am glad EPA Administrator Regan will visit the site (Thursday), it is unacceptable that it took nearly two weeks for a senior Administration official to show up,” Manchin said. “I urge President (Joe) Biden, Administrator Regan, and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to provide a complete picture of the damage and a comprehensive plan to ensure the community is supported in the weeks, months and years to come, and this sort of accident never happens again. The damage done to East Palestine and the surrounding region is awful and it is past time for those responsible to step up to the plate.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va, tweeted that he was monitoring the situation in East Palestine in the Ohio Valley.

“My staff and I have been closely monitoring the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and any potential effects to the State of West Virginia,” Mooney said. “We have been in touch with local officials in the City of Weirton and have made ourselves available if federal assistance is needed.”