The federal government agreed to a $15 million fine against Norfolk Southern over the last year. disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad has promised to pay more than $500 million to carry out efforts to improve safety. announced after the crash and address community health concerns.
Residents who had to evacuate their homes after the derailment were generally disappointed by the agreement announced Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department, which did not include any criminal charges. This federal regulation comes two days after a federal agreement the judge signed on the railway $600 million class action settlement with residents whose lives have been turned upside down.
In addition to the civil penalty, Norfolk Southern agreed to pay $235 million in past and future cleanup costs — on top of what they already paid for the cleanup — and established a $25 million health fund. dollars to pay for 20 years of medical exams. in the community. The railroad will also pay about $30 million for long-term monitoring of drinking water, groundwater and surface water in the region. The deal also calls for the railroad to pay $244 million for promised rail improvements through 2025.
Many residents of East Palestine believe that this regulation does not do enough for a company that has just reported a Profit of $527 million in the fourth quarter of last year and $53 million in the first quarter after the costs of the derailment. The railroad’s CEO received total compensation of $13.4 million last year.
“Honestly, no amount of money will ever make things right, but it should at least be enough to hurt them a little.” I’m sure it won’t hurt their bottom line at all,” Jami Wallace said.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the fine was the highest allowed under the Clean Water Act, and the railroad agreed to continue paying all cleanup costs. Additionally, he said Norfolk Southern is committed to making significant safety improvements.
“This settlement is historic in many ways and will begin to compensate for some of the damage caused to the people of eastern Palestine. And that would absolutely push the industry in the direction we want it to go,” Regan said. “Again, if some of these provisions that we have secured and locked down had been in place, we might not even be where we are today. »
But the railroad will not face criminal charges, and this latest settlement will add nothing to Norfolk Southern’s total costs of about $1.7 billion related to the derailment, as the Atlanta-based company anticipated already these costs.
Neither this federal settlement nor the class action settlement seems enough to Krissy Ferguson.
“Slaps on the wrist. A $15 million fine? And I can never go home again? » said Ferguson.
But resident Misti Allison said it’s encouraging to see investigations and lawsuits against the railroad begin to wrap up, with the cleanup expected to be done later this year.
“I think it’s a big step, but let’s continue to make sure the community is unified,” Allison said.
Many in the small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border are eager to put the derailment behind them, but fears about the possibility of developing cancer later weigh on residents. Allison said she wanted to make sure health needs are addressed. But that federal settlement mostly only includes money for exams, while the class-action settlement includes money for health problems that arose over the past year. Neither agreement addresses potential long-term health issues that could arise.
Safety improvements promised by Norfolk Southern include adding about 200 more trackside detectors to detect overheating bearings. He also has promised to invest in more than a dozen advanced inspection portals that use an array of cameras to take hundreds of photos of each passing rail car.
A bill in Congress that would force Norfolk Southern and the rest of the big freight railroads to make bigger changes is at a standstilleven though the industry has promised to make improvements all alone.
Norfolk Southern officials said they believe the relatively small size of this settlement reflects everything the railroad has already done, including paying $780 million in cleanup costs and providing $107 million in cleanup costs. help to affected residents and communities.
“We are pleased to have been able to reach a rapid resolution of these investigations, which recognizes our comprehensive response to the needs of the community and our mission to be the benchmark for safety in the rail industry. » Alan Shaw, CEO said. “We will continue to deliver on our promises and invest in the long-term future of the community. »
After Thursday’s announcement, the only remaining federal investigation is the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the cause of the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment. That agency plans to announce its findings at a hearing in East Palestine on June 25. Congressional Republicans have said they may be willing to consider rail safety reforms after this report.
Ferguson said it appeared Norfolk Southern was rushing to fix the problems before the NTSB report was released. U.S. Sen. JD Vance and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a joint statement that they believe the government should have waited to address the issue.
“The people of eastern Palestine deserve full compensation for the hardship they faced in the months following the derailment, but they also deserve the full truth about the reasons for the derailment, evacuation and of the fire,” the statement said. “By deciding to reach a settlement now, the DOJ may have sacrificed its opportunity to use the NTSB’s findings to impose maximum leverage on those responsible for any potential wrongdoing.”
The NTSB said Previously, the derailment was likely caused by an overheating bearing that was not detected in time by the trackside detectors the railroad relies on to detect mechanical problems. The NTSB chief also said the five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride I didn’t need be opened to prevent an explosion, as they were actually starting to cool even though the fire continued to burn around them.
The railroad is still working to resolve Ohio’s lawsuit filed against it after the derailment.
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News Source : apnews.com
