Biden administration settles with Norfolk Southern for $310 million after Ohio train derailment

The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement estimated to be worth $310 million with railway company Norfolk Southern after one of its trains spilled chemicals into the town of East Palestine, Ohio, last year. 

That includes an estimated $235 million for cleanup efforts and a $15 million penalty for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. The violations are described as alleged, as the company is not admitting to wrongdoing under the settlement.

In addition, the settlement provides $25 million for a 20-year community health program including long-term health monitoring, $15 million for 10 years of groundwater and surface water monitoring, and $15 million for a private drinking water monitoring fund. 

Norfolk Southern will also be required to improve the safety of trains that transport hazardous materials by rail, including by installing devices to detect overheated wheel bearings in time to prevent derailments.

The agreement needs to be approved by a judge before it becomes final. 

The company estimates that it will spend more than $200 million in rail safety and a total of more than $1 billion to address the contamination caused by its derailment last year.

The federal suit is separate from the $600 million class action settlement that was recently approved for residents.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan touted the settlement as beneficial to the East Palestine community. 

“Because of this settlement, residents and first responders will have greater access to health services, trains will be safer, and waterways will be cleaner,” Regan said in a written statement. 

Norfolk Southern’s President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a written statement that he was “pleased we were able to reach a timely resolution.”

“We will continue keeping our promises and are invested in the community’s future for the long-haul,” Shaw added. 

The derailment became a political flashpoint, with Republicans saying the Biden administration did not do enough and criticizing President Biden for not traveling to the area in the immediate aftermath.

Last week, a former EPA contractor raised concerns about how long it took the agency to deploy a plan that’s used to detect unusual chemical or radiological signals in the air. 

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has defended its response. The EPA says that it immediately began to monitor the environmental impacts of the derailment and has collected thousands of air, water and soil samples.  

The agency says that no chemicals of concern have been found in the air since an evacuation order was lifted days after the incident. 

The derailment also spurred a bipartisan effort to pass a rail safety bill. However, a number of Republicans have put up resistance to the measure. 

The train was carrying chemicals including vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic and has been linked to cancers with long-term exposure.

— Updated 12:10 p.m.