WASHINGTON — Two agencies of the federal government have announced a $310 million settlement with Norfolk Southern for the damage caused by the fiery train derailment in East Palestine last year.
In a joint release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that pending approval by a federal judge, the consent decree settlement will require Norfolk Southern 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."
Norfolk Southern will not face any criminal charges.
Here is the breakdown of what Norfolk Southern has agreed to provide per the settlement:
- Spend an estimated $235 million for all past and future costs, so that cleanup efforts can continue and the company, rather than taxpayers, covers the cost.
- Pay a $15 million civil penalty to resolve the alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.
- Pay $25 million for a 20-year community health program that includes medical monitoring for qualified individuals, mental health services for individuals residing in affected counties as well as first responders who worked at the site, and a community facilitation plan to assist community members in using the benefits of the program.
- Spend approximately $15 million to implement long-term monitoring of groundwater and surface water for a period of 10 years.
- Pay $15 million for a private drinking water monitoring fund that will continue the existing private drinking water well monitoring program for 10 years.
- Implement a “waterways remediation plan,” with an estimated budget of $6 million, for projects in Leslie Run and Sulphur Run that will prioritize addressing historical pollution, reducing non-point source pollution through infrastructure upgrades and stormwater management projects, and restoring aquatic and riparian habitat; and
- Pay $175,000 for natural resource damages, to be used by the United States to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured as a result of the derailment.
According to the joint release, "together with other response costs and rail safety enhancements, Norfolk Southern estimates that it will spend more than $1 billion to address the contamination and other harms caused by the East Palestine derailment and improve rail safety and operations." That total combines the settlement with the federal government, plus $780 million in "environmental response costs." In addition, Norfolk Southern has estimated that they will spend over $200 million in rail safety enhancements.
Norfolk Southern has also agreed to a $600 million settlement after a class action lawsuit was filed by residents and businesses impacted by the derailment. A federal judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement this week, clearing the way for the claims process to begin.
“From day one, it was important for Norfolk Southern to make things right for the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding areas,” said Alan H. Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern in a statement after the settlement with the federal government was announced. “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.”
Thursday's announcement of a settlement between Norfolk Southern and the federal government follows a complaint filed by the United States against Norfolk Southern in March 2023 "for unlawfully polluting the nation's waterways and to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup."
Additionally, the EPA issued a "unilateral administrative order" in February 2023, holding Norfolk Southern accountable for the damage done to the community. The order required cleanup of spilled substances and impacted soils, as well as payment of all costs to the U.S. government. EPA also issued an order under the Clean Water Act to clean up oil spilled into the surrounding waterways.
“No community should have to experience the trauma inflicted upon the residents of East Palestine,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a statement. “That’s why President Biden pledged from the beginning that his Administration would stand with the community every step of the way. Today’s enforcement action delivers on this commitment, ensures the cleanup is paid for by the company, and helps prevent another disaster like this from happening again. Because of this settlement, residents and first responders will have greater access to health services, trains will be safer, and waterways will be cleaner.”
The EPA and DOJ add that to "help ensure that no community goes through what East Palestine residents have faced, the settlement also requires Norfolk Southern to improve coordination with government officials and other stakeholders during emergency responses." Specifically, Norfolk Southern will create and adopt a procedure for coordinating with first responders and government officials, where appropriate, before restoring and reopening tracks for use after a derailment involving spilled hazardous material. Norfolk Southern will also create and adopt a procedure for coordinating with government officials and other stakeholders in advance of any vent and burn proposed by the company.
The consent decree also requires Norfolk Southern "to undertake projects to improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail, which will include installation of additional devices to detect overheated wheel bearings early enough to prevent derailments like the one that happened in East Palestine."
“Importantly, those who will most directly benefit from this settlement are those who were most directly affected by the disaster. And the rail safety commitments will help prevent future catastrophic railway events," added Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer.
You can read more details on the settlement from the Justice Department's website here.
BACKGROUND
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials was involved in a derailment, rocking the Columbiana County community of East Palestine near the Pennsylvania state line.
Three days later, the sky darkened as officials conducted a "controlled release" of chemicals from the derailment site amid concerns of a potential explosion. East Palestine residents found themselves evacuated from their homes as headlines of "Toxic Ohio Train Derailment" captured national attention for weeks to come.
Questions about environmental impacts and potential health problems took center stage as cleanup efforts continued for months. On Oct. 30, 2023, nearly nine months after the derailment -- Norfolk Southern declared the last of the contaminated soil had been removed.
But the story is far from over.
In March of this year, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy told a U.S. Senate committee that the controversial controlled burn that took place after the derailment was not necessary.
The NTSB has said that the crash was likely caused by an overheating bearing on one of the cars on the train that wasn't detected soon enough by the network of detectors the railroad has alongside the tracks. Their final report is scheduled to be released on June 25.
In a joint statement, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) expressed concern that the settlement announcement came before the NTSB was allowed to complete its investigation.
“This federal settlement, reached prior to the completion of the NTSB’s investigation, risks undercompensating the residents of East Palestine,” the pair said. “The Department of Justice would have better served East Palestine and surrounding communities by negotiating against Norfolk Southern armed with all relevant facts surrounding the disaster—facts which can only be revealed by the NTSB. The residents of East Palestine deserve full compensation to account for the hardships they have faced in the months since the derailment, but they also deserve the full truth about why the derailment and vent and burn occurred. With its decision 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. We are reviewing the now-public settlement proposal, but with so much unknown at this time, it is difficult to assess its impact. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure those impacted by the derailment are made whole and to ensure anyone responsible for wrongdoing is held accountable.”
Yost and Vance also took exception to the fact that the settlement details were not made known to the state of Ohio, one of the co-plaintiffs in the DOJ's suit, prior to the public release on Thursday.
"This problem deserves more time and consideration as Ohio was only presented with this agreement today. Ohio, the state which bore the brunt of the damage caused by this derailment, should have been consulted on the details of the resulting settlement. It is not known why the DOJ failed to follow standard practice to do so," the statement added.
3News' Ryan Haidet and the Associated Press' Josh Funk contributed to this story
Previous Reporting:
- $600 million East Palestine settlement given preliminary approval by federal judge
- Ohio train derailment: East Palestine 1 year later
- Ohio train derailment: NTSB chair says controlled burn in East Palestine was unnecessary
- Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in settlement related to train derailment in East Palestine
