The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
EPA takes over cleanup at train derailment site
Norfolk Southern ordered to pay for ‘mess they created.’
Federal environmental regulators on Tuesday took charge of the cleanup from the Ohio train derailment and chemical burn — and ordered Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern to foot the bill.
The Environmental Protection Agency told Norfolk Southern to take all available measures to clean up contaminated air and water, and also said the company would be required to reimburse the federal government for a new program to provide cleaning services for impacted residents and businesses.
The EPA warned Norfolk Southern that if it failed to comply with the order, the agency would perform the work itself and seek triple damages from the company.
“The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’S order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
“Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community,” he said.
Regan added that he knows the order “cannot undo the nightmare that families in this town have been living with, but it will begin to deliver much-needed comfort for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused.”
The agency said it would release more details on the cleanup service for residents and businesses this week.
The EPA said its order marks the end of the “emergency” phase of the derailment and the beginning of the long-term remediation phase in the East Palestine area.
Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine acknowledged the community’s concern that it will be left to handle the aftermath on its own once the news cameras leave and public attention turns elsewhere, and he assured residents that wouldn’t be the case.
EPA issued the order under the so-called Superfund law that gives the agency authority to order those responsible for contamination or hazardous waste to clean it up. EPA can fine the railway up to $70,000 a day if the work is not completed. EPA also can do the work itself and bill Norfolk Southern triple its costs.
Appearing at a news conference with Regan, Dewine and other officials, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro blasted Norfolk Southern over what he called its “failed management of this crisis,” saying the company chose not to take part in a unified incident command, and provided inaccurate information and conflicting modeling data.
“The combination of Norfolk Southern’s corporate greed, incompetence and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable to me,” he said.
Shapiro said his administration had made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, while Dewine said Ohio’s attorney general also had launched an investigation.
Separately, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a package of reforms on Tuesday, calling on railroad operators to take immediate steps to improve safety, such as accelerating the planned upgrade of tank cars.
About 50 freight cars derailed on the outskirts of East Palestine, near the Ohio-pennsylvania border, causing environmental and health concerns. The derailment prompted an evacuation as fears grew about a potential explosion of smoldering wreckage.