Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a civil lawsuit yesterday that seeks to hold railway company Norfolk Southern financially accountable for the derailment in East Palestine last month. Over one million gallons of hazardous chemicals were spilled as a result.
“Ohio shouldn’t have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southern’s glaring negligence,” stated Yost. “The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there’s still so much we don’t know about the long-term effects on our air, water and soil.”
Political rhetoric around the “preventable” terminology of the disaster stems from safety regulations that were put into place under the Obama administration and were subsequently rolled back during the Trump administration. Leaving railroad companies to prioritize profits over safety with little government oversight now has a very tangible effect on the health and safety of Ohioans.
“The braking requirement, put in place in 2015, required railroads to install more responsive electronic braking systems on trains carrying hazardous materials,” explained Ari Natter and Mark Niquette in an article for the American Journal of Transportation. “But the rules came under fire from the rail industry as being too expensive and the Trump administration rescinded them after conducting a congressionally mandated analysis that found their costs would be ‘significantly higher than the expected benefits.’.”
The lawsuit filed in Ohio cites Norfolk Southern for 58 violations of federal and state laws.
For more information, visit www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/.