WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern reached a $310 million settlement today with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department regarding cleanup and ongoing monitoring in East Palestine, Ohio, which was the site of a disastrous hazardous materials derailment last year.
The agencies said the agreement, which must be approved by a federal court, holds NS accountable for picking up the tab for the Feb. 3 derailment, which likely was caused by the catastrophic failure of a wheel bearing.
NS will be required to take measures to improve rail safety, pay for health monitoring and mental health services for the surrounding communities, fund long-term environmental monitoring, pay a $15 million civil penalty, and take other actions to protect nearby waterways and drinking water resources, the agencies said.
“This settlement is historic in many ways and will begin to make up for some of the damage caused to the residents of East Palestine. And it would absolutely push the industry in the direction that we would like for the industry to go,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. “Again, if some of these provisions that we’ve secured and locked in had been in place, we may not even be where we are today.”
The amount of the settlement — which comes just two days after a federal judge approved the railroad’s $600 million class action settlement with East Palestine residents — was already included in the railroad’s $1.7 billion tally in derailment-related costs.
“From day one, it was important for Norfolk Southern to make things right for the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding areas,” NS CEO Alan Shaw said in a statement. “We are pleased we were able to reach a timely resolution of these investigations that recognizes our comprehensive response to the community’s needs and our mission to be the gold standard of safety in the rail industry. We will continue keeping our promises and are invested in the community’s future for the long-haul.”
Under the agreement, NS will formalize several commitments to address environmental remediation, health monitoring, and rail safety. Those include:
- Paying a $15 million civil penalty, the maximum permitted, and reimbursing the EPA for its full response expenses, which are approximately $57 million through Nov. 30, 2023, as well as subsequent response costs.
- In addition to completing clean-up of the derailment site, implementing several environmental remediation projects to address pre-existing pollution and to improve water quality in the region. This is estimated to cost $7 million.
- Continuing monitoring of groundwater and surface water bodies estimated to cost $10 to $15 million. Additionally, a drinking water monitoring program will be established, which is estimated to cost $15 million over 10 years.
- Establishing a $25 million Community Health Program that will provide medical exams and mental health services for the community and first responders for up to 20 years.
- $244 million to be spent on safety initiatives through 2025, as part of the company’s Six Point Safety Plan and investments in safety infrastructure, technology, and training.
NS says it continues to pursue insurance reimbursements and third-party claims.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to issue its final report on the wreck next month.
Mr. Bruce, I guess you failed to read the article, which spells out what the money will go towards. It also noted the previous $600M settlement with the residents. Your ideology is getting ahead of your reading.
And I’m willing to bet that out of that $310 million, not one red cent will ever reach the people actually damaged by this disaster.
The Biden administration doesn’t care about East Palestine, but it will care enough to seize that money and spend it on something else.
Time to exc;lude hazmat shipments from common-carrier shipping requirements.
Just move them to trucks on the road. That should solve the problem….
Time for the haz mat shippers to pay for the liability insurances for RRs, waterways & road transportation.