Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read February 2023— Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a criminal referral for Norfolk Southern to the acting state attorney general on Tuesday.
At a press conference in East Palestine, Ohio, Gov. Shapiro said, “We will remain vigilant for any threats to Pennsylvanians. In the face of Norfolk Southern’s arrogance and incompetence, I want you to know that we are fighting back.” The conference was also attended by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
The East Palestine derailment has led to contamination of local watersheds, and the subsequent fire of the train’s hazardous chemical contents spread above both Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania.
Both governors agreed that Congress would have to take a hard look at rail safety, with Gov. DeWine adding, “There is something fundamentally wrong when a train like this can come into a state, and the current law does not require them – despite what they were hauling – to notify the state or local officials. That simply has to be changed.”
DeWine added the Ohio State Attorney General has also opened an investigation.
The derailment comes not long after a potential rail strike was averted in September, with rail workers concerns extending to the lack of safety regulation and undermanned crews, with some arguing the East Palestine derailment both vindicates workers and is a result of the railroad’s management.
The EPA has also ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up the site, “The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’s order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community.”
Gov. Shapiro also visited Darling Township in Beaver County, discussing the situation with residents, who had asked for and received water testing from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Southwest Regional Office earlier last week.
At the Tuesday conference, Shapiro added, “I’ve been outspoken about the serious concerns that I had with the company’s failed management of this crisis … They gave us inaccurate information and conflicting modeling data and they refused to explore or articulate alternative courses of action when we were dealing with the derailment in the early days.”
For Pennslyvanians not far from the site, the PA DEP has not seen any concerns regarding air or water quality readings following the train derailment, but continues to monitor the situation.
Regarding the criminal referral, acting State Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement: “We have just received a criminal referral from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and will act quickly to investigate this incident, gather the facts, and then evaluate the evidence to make a determination under Pennsylvania law,” adding that, “Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to clean air and pure water, and we will not hesitate to hold anyone or any company responsible for environmental crimes in our Commonwealth,” as cited by WHTM.
