The federal government agreed to a modest $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year's disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad promised to pay more than $300 million to complete the efforts to improve safety that it announced after the crash and address community health concerns.
“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. And it would absolutely push the industry in the direction that we would like for the industry to go,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. “Again, if some of these provisions that we’ve secured and locked in had been in place, we may not even be where we are today.
“Honestly, no amount can ever make this right, but it should be at least enough to hurt them a little bit. I’m sure that’s not going to hurt their bottom line at all,” Jami Wallace said. Norfolk Southern officials said they believe the relatively small size of this settlement reflects how much the railroad has already done, including paying $780 million in cleanup costs and providing $107 million in aid to residents and the communities affected.