PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. — After the Environmental Protection Agency announced hazardous waste from an Ohio train derailment would be shipped to an Indiana landfill, officials in Putnam County are responding before the first shipment makes its way to the Hoosier State on Tuesday.

The contaminated waste will be received at the Heritage Environmental landfill, which is listed at a Roachdale, Indiana address, although Putnam County officials stated it is more accurate to say the site is actually just east of the town of Russellville.

The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3 released toxic chemicals like vinyl chloride, bringing immediate concerns about air and water quality in the surrounding areas and beyond.

While some of the hazardous material was burned off during a controlled release following the derailment, a portion of the waste has already been shipped out across the U.S., including disposal facilities in Michigan and Texas.

The Roachdale landfill and an incinerator in Grafton, Ohio are slated to be the latest recipients of the waste. However, according to Putnam County Emergency Management Agency Director David Costin, the landfill will first test samples of the toxic material to see if it can be processed at the Heritage Environmental facility.

“…If a decision is reached to accept it, then they [Putnam County commissioners] will also hold local community meetings to brief our citizens on the process used, and that it will be done so safely,” said Costin in a statement to FOX59.

Putnam County EMA did not issue a timeline for the testing process but stressed that Heritage Environmental “has always done a very safe and efficient job with the industrial waste that it does process/deposit there.”

Tuesday, Governor Eric Holcomb released the following statement regarding the news:

“I continue to object to the EPA Administrator’s decision, from Washington, D.C., to move hazardous waste from the East Palestine train derailment to Indiana. Further, there has been a lack of communication with me and other Indiana officials about this decision. After learning third-hand that materials may be transported to our state yesterday, I directed my environmental director to reach out to the agency. The materials should go to the nearest facilities, not moved from the far eastern side of Ohio to the far western side of Indiana. I have made a request to speak to the administrator to discuss this matter. I want to know exactly what precautions will be taken in the transport and disposition of the materials.”

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb

The EPA has been steadily testing air, water and soil quality in Ohio following the derailment. The agency said testing has not yet shown anything of concern.