The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ordering Norfolk Southern to handle and complete all cleanup requirements after its train carrying hazardous materials derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border earlier this month.
The announcement of the order came Tuesday at a press conference in East Palestine, where EPA Administrator Michael Regan emphasized residents’ concerns of being abandoned and left on their own to deal with the consequences of the derailment and controlled release of chemicals.
“Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted on this community and impacted Beaver County (Pennsylvania) residents,” Regan said.
As part of the order, Regan said Norfolk Southern must do the following:
- Identify and remove all contaminated soil and water from the area
- Safely transport and dispose of contaminated soil and water properly as defined by EPA specifications
- Reimburse the EPA for any cleanup services the agency offers affected residents and businesses
- Attend and participate in public meetings at the EPA’s request while maintaining full transparency with the public.
The order also requires Norfolk Southern to develop a cleanup plan that must be reviewed and approved by the EPA with state and local government input.
“The work plan will outline every single necessary step to clean up the environmental damage caused by the derailment,” Regan said. “And I can assure you no details will be overlooked.”
Today, EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct all cleanup actions associated with the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.https://t.co/jpF2LEC0QQ
— U.S. EPA (@EPA) February 21, 2023
If they fail to do so, Regan said the EPA will immediately take over and complete the cleanup effort, but will then “force” Norfolk Southern to reimburse the EPA three times the cost of cleanup.
“Folks, I know this order cannot undo the nightmare that families in this town have been living with,” he said, “but it will begin to deliver much needed justice for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused.”
The order was signed by the U.S. EPA Monday, Regan said, and Norfolk Southern has 48 hours to respond.
As of Tuesday, 4,588 cubic yards of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water had been removed from the area, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. But Norfolk Southern is still responsible for removing contaminated soil that remains under the railroad tracks at the derailment site, as ordered by the EPA.
Throughout the cleanup phase, state and local authorities will continue water sampling efforts, Regan said, and the EPA will continue to implement indoor air screenings for residents in the evacuation zone. The agency has tested 550 homes so far.
“I recognize that no matter how much data we collect or provide, it will not be enough to completely reassure everybody,” Regan said. “It may not be enough to restore the sense of safety and security that this community once had, but we’re going to work together day by day, for as long as it takes, to make sure that this community feels at home once again.”
The Ohio EPA will test water samples on a weekly basis, DeWine said, and can test privately owned wells as well. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection will continue independent sampling of water within the two-mile radius of the derailment.
DeWine said Norfolk Southern should be responsible for paying for all damages caused by the derailment, including residents’ health issues caused by the incident.
“The railroad needs to pay for anything that they caused, [and] anything that they did,” DeWine said. “So, when someone shows up at the clinic, and if they do not have insurance, the railroad needs to be made to pay for that.”
A free Health Assessment Clinic opened in East Palestine at noon Tuesday to serve residents experiencing symptoms that could be associated with the chemicals released after the derailment.
The clinic is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., DeWine said, and is open to anyone, including affected residents in Pennsylvania’s Beaver County. The clinic can be reached by phone at (234) 564-7755 and (234) 564-7888.
“This is really in response to the concerns that we have heard that people want to be able to go some place and get some answers about any kind of medical problem that they believe are, in fact, having.” DeWine said.
The clinic will keep metrics on the medical reports and symptoms of patients who visit the clinic, the governor said.
Both DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said they are pursuing criminal action against Norfolk Southern through each state’s attorney general.
“In sum, Norfolk Southern injected unnecessary risk into this crisis and they created confusion in this process,” Shapiro said. “Thankfully, leaders like Gov. DeWine [and] local leaders in the communities here in Ohio and Pennsylvania were able to do our jobs even though Norfolk Southern made it harder.”
Congressman Bill Johnson added that after the National Transportation Safety Board releases the results of its investigation of the derailment, it will be easier to pursue legal action against Norfolk Southern.
“That will dictate whether there are laws, regulations that need to be changed [and] whether there were rules that were violated,” Johnson said. “We don’t know any of that yet, and we won’t know that until the NTSB releases its report.”
Both governors have discussed the need for Congress to reassess rail safety legislation, DeWine said.
“There is something fundamentally wrong when a train like this can come into a state and the current law does not require, despite what they were hauling, does not require them to notify the state or local officials,” he said. “That simply has to be changed.”
All parties emphasized that they intend to work with East Palestine in the coming months and years to ensure Norfolk Southern completes the cleanup.
“We’re not going to leave this community behind,” Regan said. “We’re not going to leave this community to manage this aftermath alone. We’re with you.”
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said he is confident that the EPA and state officials will keep their word and hopes Norfolk Southern will complete mandated efforts to restore the village to what it was prior to the Feb. 3 derailment.
“We need our town cleaned up, [and] we need our residents to feel safe in their homes. That’s the number one thing,” Conaway said. “Your home is your sanctuary. If you don’t feel safe in your home, then you’re never going to feel safe anywhere.”
