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Ohio Sues Norfolk Southern for East Palestine Train Derailment Damages | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks

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The Ohio Attorney General wants Norfolk Southern to pay for costs related to the East Palestine train derailment that occurred Feb. 3.
Screenshot of aerial footage courtesy of NTSB

March 16, 2023

The Ohio Attorney General’s office wants Norfolk Southern to pay for what are certain to be enormous costs related to a Feb. 3 train derailment that caused 38 rail cars to topple over, ignited a fire and resulted in the release of over 1 million gallons of hazardous chemicals. 

A civil lawsuit filed March 14 in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio alleges that the Charlotte NC dump trucks company violated hazardous waste and water quality laws and failed to take proper care to prevent the derailment in East Palestine. It cites 58 violations of federal and state environmental laws and Ohio Common Law related to the derailment. 

"Norfolk Southern has repeatedly said that it will make the situation right," said Attorney General Dave Yost in a press release, adding, “This lawsuit will make sure that Norfolk Southern keeps its word.”

An overheated bearing on a rail car axle played a critical role in the derailment and chemical spill, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report issued Feb. 21. 

In addition to a declaratory judgment holding Norfolk Southern responsible, the lawsuit seeks recovery of costs and damages under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, and the Ohio law for emergency response. 

The lawsuit also seeks repayment of damages including natural resources damages, property damages and economic harm to the state and its residents, repayment of the state’s present and future costs in responding to the emergency and for providing public services, preventing future harm to the environment and public health, restoring natural resources, and abating the nuisance, civil penalties under state environmental laws, and repayment of court costs. 

“As a formality, the complaint names a jurisdictional minimum for federal damages of $75,000, although the damages will far exceed that minimum as the situation in East Palestine continues to unfold,” Yost said. 

The lawsuit charges that Norfolk Southern has an “extensive and tragic history of derailments and releases of hazardous materials, hazardous substances, hazardous wastes and/or other harmful pollutants.”

"The derailment was foreseeable and preventable," according to the lawsuit, which alleges that Norfolk Southern’s accident rate increased by 80 percent over the last ten years. And at least twenty Norfolk Southern derailments since 2015 have involved chemical releases.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order in February under CERCLA requiring Norfolk Southern to "identify and clean up contaminated soil and water resources."

 Norfolk Southern disputes charges that it is not doing enough to clean the site. 

“Every day since the derailment, our goal has been to make it right for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities. We are making progress every day cleaning the site safely and thoroughly, providing financial assistance to residents and businesses that have been affected, and investing to help East Palestine and the communities around it thrive," a statement from the railroad  says. 

Connor Spielmaker, a Norfolk Southern spokesperson, said railroad officials met with Yost in mid-March to discuss residents’ on-going concerns and how to address them, including creating a long-term medical compensation fund as an extra layer of assurance against health problems, providing tailored protection for home sellers if their property loses value due to the derailment, and working with stakeholders to protect drinking water.  

It also states that the air and drinking water are safe.

“To date, environmental monitoring continues to show the air and drinking water are safe," the railroad states.  

The lawsuit also asks the court to require Norfolk Southern to conduct future monitoring of soil and groundwater at the derailment location, the surrounding areas and beyond, and to submit a closure plan to the Ohio EPA.

The lawsuit would also prohibit Norfolk Southern from disposing of additional waste at the derailment site and from polluting Ohio waters.

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Annemarie mannion

Annemarie Mannion is editor of ENR Midwest, which covers 11 states. She joined ENR in 2022 and reports from Chicago.