Nearly all households opt-in to East Palestine settlement

(The Center Square) – According to court-appointed class attorneys, less than 1% of the nearly 200,000 households involved in the East Palestine train derailment settlement opted out of the $600 million deal.

A court filing after the July 1 opt-out and objection deadline showed 0.09% of the 190,887 households in the settlement class opted out of the agreement. The settlement class includes households in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Seath A. Katz, M. Elizabeth Graham and Jayne Conroy, court-appointed class counsel wrote in an email statement to The Center Square, “As today’s filing makes clear, the community’s response to the settlement has been overwhelmingly positive. While thousands of claims have already been submitted, we encourage all members of the community to file immediately ahead of the Aug. 22 deadline to ensure they receive every benefit they are entitled to from this settlement.”

The settlement is separate from the U.S. Department of Justice’s $310 million settlement with Norfolk Southern. That deal came before last month's National Transportation and Safety Board’s final report .

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, called that deal premature and said there was a need for railway safety legislation immediately.

“The NTSB findings also call the Biden Department of Justice’s premature settlement into serious question," Vance said after the Transportation Safety Board's final report was released. "Had they waited for these findings to be revealed, they could have secured more for the people of East Palestine. Finally, these findings underscore the need for Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act, which would go a long way to improve our rail safety standards and prevent future disasters like what happened in East Palestine.”

At a public hearing last month in East Palestine, Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called Norfolk Southern’s attempts to sway the investigation unprecedented and reprehensible.

She reiterated the board’s finding that the eventual vent and burn following the crash was unnecessary, and the report said the Feb. 3, 2023, crash could have been avoided.

It blamed the crash that forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents on the wheel bearing of rail car 23, which caught fire, causing the axle to fall off and derail the train.

The final report confirmed initial findings released in February and previously reported by The Center Square.