Norfolk Southern to pay $7M to reimburse Pa. agencies, fire departments, create relief fund

The train company responsible for last month’s derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has agreed to pay more than $7 million to cover costs incurred by Pennsylvania agencies and fire departments and establish a relief fund for residents and businesses, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday.

Shapiro said he demanded Norfolk Southern to cover the costs incurred by state agencies and local fire departments that responded to the derailment, as well as set up a $1 million community relief fund for businesses and residents in Beaver and Lawrence counties impacted by the derailment.

“Norfolk Southern’s train derailment has hurt communities in Western Pennsylvania, and to make matters worse, the company’s disregard for crisis management best practices injected unnecessary risk into the situation and created confusion for residents and first responders,” Shapiro said in a statement.

“Norfolk Southern must do better – and the entire cost of this derailment and its impact on the commonwealth must be picked up by them, not the people of Pennsylvania,” he added. “My administration is doing whatever it takes to help Pennsylvanians impacted by this incident, and I will continue to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for their actions.”

The governor’s office said Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay:

• $5 million to reimburse local fire departments in Western Pennsylvania that need to replace contaminated or damaged equipment used in responding to the derailment.
• $1 million for a Community Relief Fund to be run by Beaver and Lawrence County officials to support business owners and residents impacted by the derailment.
• $950,000 to cover the state Department of Environmental Protection’s work in Western Pennsylvania.
• $400,000 for the state Department of Health’s services, including costs associated with the Health Resource Center opened last week in Darlington Township.
• $30,000 to cover the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s staff time.

Norfolk Southern’s agreement to pay these costs is separate and apart from any other legal obligations or penalties that might be imposed, according to the governor’s office.

East Palestine train derailment:

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• Pa. DEP to spend week testing water samples collected within mile of train derailment
• How the Ohio train derailment impacted Pa.'s air and water quality
• Erin Brockovich steals show at train derailment seminar in Ohio