The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice reached a $310 million settlement with Norfolk Southern Thursday over its disastrous train derailment last year in East Palestine, Ohio.
As part of the settlement, Norfolk Southern agreed to spend an estimated $235 million for clean-up, $25 million for a 20-year community health program, $30 million for monitoring water quality, and $6 million for a “waterways remediation plan” to prioritize addressing historical pollution.
“No community should have to experience the trauma inflicted upon the residents of East Palestine,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a written statement. “Because of this settlement, residents and first responders will have greater access to health services, trains will be safer, and waterways will be cleaner.”
In February of 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous material derailed, displacing nearly half of East Palestine’s residents following a release of chemicals such as hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air.
Along with the settlement, the company estimates that it will spend more than $1 billion to address the contamination and other harms caused by the East Palestine derailment. That total includes measures the company will take to improve rail safety, along with a years-long effort to provide medical monitoring and mental health services for affected residents and environmental remediation.
The settlement still needs to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Under the agreement, the company will have to pay a $15 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. In a call with reporters, a Justice Department official noted that Norfolk Southern would not be expressing liability, but called the settlement it a “very positive step that holds Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment.”
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The settlement follows a complaint filed by the federal government against the company in March of last year for the discharges of pollutants and hazardous substances caused by the train derailment.
In April, the company agreed to pay $600 million to settle all class-action claims within a 20-mile radius of the derailment.