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NS marks two years by highlighting contributions and improvements made

Residents gather in front of the Norfolk Southern Field Office during Vice President JD Vance’s trip to the village on Monday. The completion of the field office was one of the initiatives — along with over $850 million spent — that was highlighted by the railroad’s two-year progress report. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

EAST PALESTINE — Norfolk Southern (NS) chose to talk numbers when marking the second anniversary of the East Palestine train derailment and chemical release, highlighting the funds the railroad has paid out for “health support, economic recovery and environmental remediation” in the 700-plus days since the Feb. 3, 2023 disaster.

Norfolk released a progress report entitled “Following Through for the Community,” breaking down how over $850 million was allocated.

“We remain dedicated to restoring the site, supporting local families, and investing in the community,” the report said. “Since the beginning, we have focused on taking meaningful action to help East Palestine recover and thrive.”

Settlement money accounted for the bulk of the figures. Of the $700 million, the class action settlement accounted for $600 million of the money highlighted, though only $420 million of that deal will benefit the impacted communities after attorney’s deducted $180 million awarded in legal fees.

Also featured in the report was $25 million to create a “Community Health Program providing medical exams and mental health services for the community and first responders for up to 20 years.” That program was a condition of another settlement — a $315 million deal between the Department of Justice and Norfolk Southern — as was the $15 million “to establish a well water monitoring program” and “$6 million to address pre-existing pollution and improve water quality The railroad’s $22 million settlement with the village that was announced last week was also tallied in.

As for other funds to support public health, NS reported that over $2 million was used “to establish the State of Ohio medical facility in East Palestine and reimburse the State of Ohio for care patients received at the East Palestine Clinic,” $1.8 million spent for “the operation of a local East Palestine clinical counseling and wellness practice supporting the mental well-being of local residents” and $649,000 contributed “to fund an Ohio-run Community Resiliency Center to address mental health issues.”

As far as efforts to economically repair the village and in addition to the $22 million “committed to the village for use at their discretion,” the railroad referenced a $500,000 economic grant (used to hire village economic director) $750,000 grant to the East Palestine City School District (used to create a public relation position), $4.2 million to Pennsylvania communities to support local agencies and grants for nonprofits and $100,000 to complete interior renovations on the East Palestine train depot (ownership was transferred to the village after $1 million was spent restoring the exterior).

The railroad considered the $5 million spent “to protect area drinking water with state-of-the-art technology” used for purchase and installation of carbon water filters and the construction of a building to house the filters at the municipal plant” part of economic recovery efforts, though the upgrades are more a benefit to public health than economic growth.

As for other funds, the railroad said its “commitment and progress to date” includes $9 million in direct first responder support, $115 million in community support, $22.2 million in direct assistance to local families and $25 million earmarked for the city park renovation project.

The report also discussed big numbers when it came to environmental remediation with 74 million-plus gallons of impacted water recovered and transported offsite and over 219,000 tons of soil dug-up as well as 1,700 private drinking wells tested.

According to the update, NS has “completed site-wide soil sampling and majority of site remediation and continued monitoring of air, surface water, groundwater, and drinking water — all results show the air and drinking water in the community are safe.” Large water storage tanks have been decommissioned and equipment demobilized and restoration of impacted areas underway. NS also reports that the natural water flows back to Sulphur Run and is “committed to fully reimburse EPA” — another condition of the DOJ settlement.

Other initiatives highlighted were the business open house held in August of 2023 that provided guidance and resource avenues to local merchants affected by the derailment, an economic development roundtable that brought village leaders, local and state officials and Norfolk Southern together in December of 2023 to focus on economic recovery in the wake of the rail disaster, the now-open Norfolk Southern’s new field office in East Palestine and several advancements in rail safety.

The safety improvements include partnering with RapidSOS, a digital platform “that connects over 16,000 emergency response agencies to immediately provide first responders with real-time access to train consists, train locations, and emergency response protocols” and joining the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) pilot program that ensures “employees to report safety concerns with certainty that such reports will not result in discipline” — NS was the first first Class I railroad to do so. NS also installed 250 new hot bearing detectors across their nearly 20,000 miles of track, seven new digital train inspection portals (the first in Leetonia) and 17 new acoustic bearing detectors across its network. NS also partnered with SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) to enhance conductor training programs and increase compensation for conductors who provide instruction.

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