Norfolk Southern Corp. will pay $22 million to East Palestine, Ohio, to settle claims related to a train derailment there in early 2023.
In a joint statement released on Jan. 27, officials with the village and with Atlanta-based NS said the settlement provides East Palestine with that amount for priorities identified by the village in connection with the derailment.
The settlement also recognizes almost $13.5 million in payments that NS has already made directly to the village, including replacement of village fire and police equipment and vehicles, improvements to its water treatment plant and NS's exterior renovation of a historic train depot. The settlement also reaffirms NS's commitment of $25 million to ongoing improvements to East Palestine City Park.
As part of the settlement, NS and the village have agreed that building a proposed regional safety training center in the village is not feasible. NS has agreed to transfer ownership of approximately 15 acres it acquired for the proposed center to the village, to be used by the village in its discretion.
NS "remains committed to providing training for East Palestine's first responders at other facilities in the region," officials said.
The Feb. 3, 2023, derailment led to the controversial burnoff of several train cars of vinyl chloride monomer, a feedstock used to make PVC resin. According to the National Transportation Safety Board's official account of the accident, part of an eastbound NS train derailed on its main track in East Palestine. Eleven derailed tank cars carrying hazardous materials ignited, fueling fires that damaged another 12 rail cars that did not derail. First responders implemented a 1-mile evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents.
The federal NTSB later ruled that the burnoff was unnecessary. Data from Oxy Vinyls LP, the Dallas-based firm that owned the VCM that was being transported, showed the VCM at the site was not polymerizing and as a result was not at risk of causing an explosion.
A highly contentious hearing between NS and NTSB took place June 28, 2023, in East Palestine. At the hearing, NTSB officials criticized NS for a lack of access to data on the train's contents, a malfunctioning sensor that would have detected the overheated bearing and a lack of training for volunteer fire departments, such as the one in East Palestine that responded to the derailment.
Also at the hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy called out NS for its behavior during the investigation. In a meeting with NTSB board members two weeks before the final hearing, according to Homendy, a NS senior executive said that it was their hope that the NTSB would put to rest the "rumor" that NS made the decision to vent and burn to move trains.
"That is not only unethical and inappropriate, but defending an entity's decision-making is not our role," Homendy said. "The entire exchange ended with what everyone from the NTSB heard in the room was a threat … to use every avenue and opportunity to vigorously defend their decision-making in media and hearings going forward."
In a news release issued after the hearing, officials with Norfolk Southern in Atlanta defended their decision to burn off the VCM at the site. "After carefully considering all alternatives, Norfolk Southern and its specialist contractors recommended a controlled vent and burn … as the only option to protect the community from a potential catastrophic explosion," they said.
During 2024, NS reached a $600 million settlement with area residents who may have been impacted by the derailment. In an update posted Jan. 24, 2025, NS said those individuals "can use the compensation in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment."
Also during 2024, NS agreed to a $310 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Interior to resolve all claims and investigations from the derailment
NS officials added in the Jan. 24 update that the firm has committed $117 million in community support to East Palestine and is spending $15 million to establish a well water monitoring program in the area.