Norfolk Southern Violated the Clean Water Act in East Palestine Disaster, DOJ Lawsuit Alleges

Norfolk Southern is facing much fallout implicit the February 3 derailment of 1 its trains successful East Palestine, Ohio. That disastrous derailment, successful which aggregate tanker cars carrying hazardous chemicals overturned and spilled, forced the evacuation of thousands of residents of the Ohio town, killed tens of thousands of fish, and near locals acrophobic implicit semipermanent health impacts.

Now, the Department of Justice, connected behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, has filed a federal lawsuit against the obstruction company. The ailment claims that, by spilling the toxic chemicals, Norfolk Southern violated the Clean Water Act. A information of the vinyl chloride, a integrative precursor being carried by the train, and different hazardous materials leaked into a watercourse alongside the obstruction tracks. The controlled pain of the chemicals released further toxic compounds that besides perchance entered waterways.

So far, millions of gallons of wastewater person been removed from the tract of the derailment and arsenic portion of the ongoing clean-up. Much of that contaminated h2o has been hauled to hazardous discarded retention sites successful Ohio and elsewhere, per the Associated Press. In summation to the h2o removal, national and authorities biology and wellness officials person besides been overseeing continued soil, air, and h2o testing.

For each of those efforts, the feds privation the institution liable to wage up. The suit seeks civilian penalties and that Norfolk Southern screen the outgo of clean-up, authorities response, and harm triggered by the accident.

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The 1972 Clean Water Act protects waters of the Unites States from pollution. And though the nonstop meaning of “waters of the United States” has been a taxable of a contentious backmost and forth implicit the past fewer decades, the federally protected presumption of the Ohio River isn’t truly up for debate.

From the tiny watercourse adjacent to the bid tracks, the caller suit alleges, toxins resulting from the derailment flowed downstream done a bid of ever-larger tributaries to the Ohio River, yet contaminating the large, navigable waterway.

Already, Norfolk Southern was facing a suit from the authorities of Ohio demanding that the freight institution instrumentality fiscal work for section clean-up costs and damage. The national ailment adds to the eventual outgo Norfolk Southern could beryllium forced to pay.

Norfolk Southern executives person repeatedly apologized for what happened successful East Palestine, but the troubles person been ongoing for the company’s trains. Between aboriginal February and aboriginal March, astatine slightest 4 Norfolk Southern trains derailed. On March 9, conscionable hours earlier a legislature proceeding connected the Ohio incident, another Norfolk Southern bid derailed, this clip successful Alabama, highlighting conscionable however commonplace specified incidents are.

During that legislature hearing, the corporation’s CEO Alan Shaw reiterated to the assembled U.S. senators that helium was “deeply sorry” for the harm wrought successful East Palestine. He besides said helium was “determined to marque this right.” However, Shaw stopped acold abbreviated of agreeing to wage for assemblage members’ consequent aesculapian costs, wellness care, oregon section economical damage, according to the New York Times.

The institution isn’t the lone instauration facing disapproval implicit the East Palestine disaster. The EPA itself has been nether occurrence for however it responded to the derailment. Earlier this week, the agency’s watchdog Office of Inspector General launched an interior investigation into however the EPA has handled things.

The East Palestine incident, which has captured nationalist attraction acknowledgment successful portion to shocking images of the aftermath, could yet pb to industry-wide changes. On Thursday, six U.S. senators introduced legislation that would tighten information requirements for freight trains carrying hazardous materials.