Norfolk Southern reaches $310 million settlement in Ohio train derailment

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay more than $310 million in a settlement with the U.S. federal government for its train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, last year. The money from the settlement announced on Thursday, May 23, will go toward safety improvements and to address the health of East Palestine residents.

In February of 2023, a train carrying cars filled with vinyl chloride derailed and led to an explosion and massive plumes of smoke that spread chemicals into the area. As a result, residents in the area were forced to evacuate.

As part of the settlement, Norfolk Southern will have pay $235 million for past and future cleanup costs from the disaster. The company will also have to pay for the monitoring of drinking water and groundwate r, as well as 20 years of medical exams for the community and alleged violations to the Clean Water Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency called the settlement historic.

"This settlement is historic in many ways and will begin to make up for some of the damage caused to the residents of East Palestine," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. "And it would absolutely push the industry in the direction that we would like the industry to go."

However, not everyone felt the same. One East Palestine resident told The Associated Press that "no amount of money can ever make this right."

Many East Palestine residents told the AP that the settlement doesn't do nearly enough for a company that reported a $527 million profit in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company also reportedly made a profit of $53 million in the first quarter after the derailment costs. In addition, the railroad's CEO received more than $13 million in total compensation in 2023.

Norfolk Southern has already paid $780 million for cleanup costs and $107 million to residents and communities impacted by the train derailment disaster.

Norfolk has promised to improve safety by installing around 200 more trackside detectors and some inspection portals. The portals will use cameras from multiple angles to take pictures of each railcar as it passes by. The company estimates the cost for the improvements will be in the range of $244 million going into 2025 .

Just one federal investigation remains — a probe by the National Travel Safety Board , which is looking into what caused the crash.

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