The Justice Department announced Thursday that Norfolk Southern has agreed to a settlement of about $310 million to resolve a lawsuit over the railroad’s discharge of toxic substances following last year’s fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Under the agreement, Norfolk Southern will pay an estimated $235 million to cover the costs of the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to clean up contaminated air, water and soil in and around where the train derailed and where toxic fumes were later vented. In addition, the railroad will pay a $15 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.
The Feb. 3, 2023, derailment upended lives in East Palestine – a town of nearly 5,000 residents near the state border with Pennsylvania – and quickly led to partisan finger-pointing over railroad safety, shipments of toxic chemicals and the Biden administration’s response to the disaster.
The agreement announced Thursday will help ensure that the railroad, rather than taxpayers, foots the bill for the environmental damage inflicted by the derailment and chemical spill, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said on a call with reporters.
The settlement will “hold Norfolk Southern accountable for cleaning up the mess it caused, and my team has been laser-focused on holding the guilty party accountable,” Regan said.
The $15 million civil penalty is unlikely to satisfy residents of East Palestine who had called for the railroad to face stiffer punishment. But Regan said it is the highest amount allowed under the Clean Water Act, given the facts of the case and the alleged violations.
The settlement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge, will resolve all federal claims and investigations into Norfolk Southern, with the exception of a probe by the National Transportation Safety Board into the cause of the derailment. In a preliminary report released last year, the NTSB found that a bearing on one of the train’s wheels had overheated, causing it to come off the tracks.
Under the consent decree, Norfolk Southern also formalized several previously announced commitments, including the establishment of a $25 million program that will provide medical exams and mental health services for community members and first responders for up to 20 years. The railroad will also spend roughly $30 million to continue monitoring groundwater, surface water and drinking water in the area for the next 10 years. In addition, Norfolk Southern has agreed to implement a “waterways remediation plan,” with an estimated budget of $6 million.
“From day one, it was important for Norfolk Southern to make things right for the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding areas,” Norfolk Southern chief executive Alan Shaw said in a statement Thursday. “We are pleased we were able to reach a timely resolution of these investigations that recognizes our comprehensive response to the community’s needs.”
During the derailment, 38 rail cars came off the tracks, including 11 carrying hazardous substances. Two days after the crash, emergency crews decided to burn five cars carrying vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical used to make plastic, to avert a possible explosion. The controlled burn sent a plume of thick black smoke billowing above the region, leaving residents worried about the potential long-term health effects from chemical exposure.
More than a year later, EPA crews are still working to remove contaminated soil and water from the area. As of May 10, the crews had shipped off-site more than 177,000 tons of solid waste and more than 67 million gallons of wastewater, according to an update on the agency’s website.
Last month, Norfolk Southern agreed to a separate $600 million settlement to resolve 31 class-action lawsuits brought by local residents and businesses. That agreement, which a federal judge approved on Tuesday, is designed to address all damage claims within a 20-mile radius of the derailment and all personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius of the site.
The derailment has prompted bipartisan calls on Capitol Hill for stricter railroad safety standards, including higher penalties for violations of federal regulations. But those efforts have stalled in the face of intense lobbying by the railroad industry.
(c) Washington Post
