Lehigh Valley officials to update hazard plan after derailment of Norfolk Southern train
Riverside Drive in Lower Saucon Township reopened Monday, two days after three trains collided and closed the road over the weekend.
The response to the derailment earned praise from Lehigh Valley emergency leaders, who began training and reviewing emergency plans last year after dozens of cars from a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed just over the Pennsylvania border in East Palestine, Ohio, and burned hazardous materials.
Lehigh County and Northampton County officials, who are updating the bi-county plan for dealing with such hazards, said they would learn from Saturday’s incident.
“It was still kind of surreal, but it was just a matter of ‘let’s get to work and get what needs to be done done’ at that point,” said Kevin Krotzer, the special operations team coordinator at Lehigh County’s emergency management office.
The Norfolk Southern trains collided Saturday along the Lehigh River in Lower Saucon, near Bethlehem, sending two engines partially into the water and closing Riverside Drive.
Norfolk Southern will clean up the incident and repair the track while the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigates.
Spokespersons for Norfolk Southern and the Federal Railroad Administration said Monday that Norfolk Southern is responsible for the cleanup costs. An estimate on such costs was not immediately available.
“There is no way for the [railroad administration] to estimate such costs as each event is different,” agency spokesperson Warren Flataut said. He said Norfolk Southern will be required to report to the agency the monetary damages to track and equipment but not the cleanup under federal regulation.
No injuries were reported, but diesel fuel and polypropylene pellets spilled into the river.
Staffers from the emergency management offices of Lehigh and Northampton counties helped ensure contaminants didn’t spread in the river and informed the public about what happened.
The counties are updating their hazard mitigation plan, which is intended to identify and minimize the impacts from natural and manmade disasters, such as Saturday’s derailment. The plan is updated every five years, with a new version going into effect this year.
Lehigh County Emergency Management Director Tanya Hook said under the plan, first responders train and prepare for rail incidents. They also identify the different chemicals that typically travel through the area.
Mr. Krotzer said he was happy with the response to the derailment.
“Everybody worked well together,” he said.
Northampton County Emergency Management Director Todd Weaver also praised his county’s response. He said he looks forward to hearing about what caused the derailment, and continuing efforts to ensure rail traffic is safe and that the counties are ready to respond to rail accidents.
Norfolk Southern in a news release Monday said the company will work with the NTSB to prevent future derailments and make its operations safer.
The company also pushed back on criticisms of its record following the derailment, which came about 13 months after the East Palestine, Ohio, incident.
“Today, the company’s mainline accident rate is the lowest it has been in years and is among the best of the North American Class I rails,” Norfolk Southern said in its release. “... We are committed to building on our safety track record and setting the gold standard for rail safety.”
Ms. Hook said that Lehigh’s next steps for the derailment will include finding out how it can better respond to future such events, and to continue collaborating with local first responders to build working relationships.