DOJ office hours available to EP residents
EAST PALESTINE — The Department of Justice (DOJ) will set up office hours next week in East Palestine to discuss its proposed settlement with Norfolk Southern to remedy damages caused by last year’s train derailment and chemical release, the Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported on Tuesday.
The DOJ will be available at the EPA Welcome Center, located at 25 N Market St., July 15 and 16 and can meet with small groups of five to seven people at a time. Residents who wish to meet with the DOJ are asked to make an appointment by calling the welcome center at 330-775-6517 or emailing R5_EastPalestine@epa.gov.
In May, the DOJ announced that a $310 million settlement had been reached between Norfolk Southern and the federal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The federal settlement requires Norfolk Southern to pay a $15 million civil penalty to resolve the alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, $25 million for a 20-year community health program that includes, $15 million to implement long-term monitoring of groundwater and surface water for a period of 10 years and an additional $15 million to fund a drinking water monitoring fund (both municipal and private wells) for 10 years.
The lawsuit also requires medical monitoring for qualified individuals for individuals residing in affected counties as well as first responders who worked at the site. According to a fact sheet provided by the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division the monitoring will consist of at least 10 free annual medical monitoring exams — routine physical exams, comprehensive metabolic blood panels, pulmonary function tests, x-rays, and assessment of results — over a 15-year period. Residents who live within two miles of the derailment site or along part of Leslie Run and first responders are also automatically eligible. Medical Monitoring will be available for those who reside outside the two-mile zone and will be determined on a case-by-case basis considering factors like proximity to derailment and any medical conditions that may be linked to the event.
The fact sheet also states that Norfolk Southern will also be required to change how it operates to improve rail safety and reduce the chance of future derailments. Many of these improvements were recently recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its investigation of the derailment. Improvements include more emergency response training, better monitoring of overheated wheel bearings and safer tank cars.
The DOJ is accepting public comments through Aug. 2 on the proposed settlement. Comments can be submitted to pubcomment-ees@usdoj.gov or by mail to: Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ – ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20004-7611.