EPA Orders Norfolk Southern to Clean Up Ohio Derailment Site (Connecting the Dots: CSX, Federal Railroad Administration, Sidley Austin LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking)

EPA Orders Norfolk Southern to Clean Up Ohio Derailment Site (Connecting the Dots: CSX, Federal Railroad Administration, Sidley Austin LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Newsmax

By Charles Kim    |   Tuesday, 21 February 2023 02:26 PM EST

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/chemicals-ohio-train-derailment/2023/02/21/id/1109550/

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday ordered rail carrier Norfolk Southern to clean up and be responsible for "all necessary actions" after the derailment of its 150-car freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 that resulted in a massive fire and the "controlled release" and burn off of several hazardous chemicals.

"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 S. Regan said in a press release Tuesday announcing the agency's order. "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."

The EPA's order demands Norfolk Southern identify and clean contaminated soil and water resources, reimburse the federal agency for cleaning services to be offered to the town's residents and businesses, attend public meetings at EPA's request, post information online, and pay the EPA for all work done under the order.

"I'm deeply grateful to the emergency responders, including EPA personnel, who've been on the ground since day one and ensured there was no loss of life as a result of this disaster," Regan said in the release. "As we transition from emergency response, EPA will continue to coordinate closely with our local, state, and federal partners through a whole-of-government approach to support the East Palestine community during the remediation phase. To the people of East Palestine, EPA stands with you now and for as long as it may take."

According to the agency, Norfolk Southern will have to pay triple the cost if it fails to comply with the order.

Some East Palestine residents filed a class action lawsuit against the rail carrier on Feb. 7 because of the derailment, which included the spilling of the dangerous chemical vinyl chloride.

The suit charges Norfolk Southern with negligence in operating the train, causing the residents to be exposed to "toxic fumes, substances, and carcinogens," which forced them out of their homes and businesses.

The lawsuit wants a judgment against the railroad company for a yet undisclosed amount of money.

Norfolk Southern did not respond to an NBC News request for comment on the EPA's order Tuesday.

CSX Transportation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_Transportation#Conrail_acquisition

Conrail acquisition

On June 23, 1997, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board for authority to purchase, divide, and operate the assets of the 11,000-mile (18,000 km) Conrail, which had been created in 1976 by bringing together several ailing Northeastern railway systems into a government-owned corporation. On June 6, 1998, the STB approved the CSX–NS application and set August 22, 1998, as the effective date of its decision. CSX acquired 42 percent of Conrail's assets, and NS received the remaining 58 percent. As a result of the transaction, CSX's rail operations grew to include some 3,800 miles (6,100 km) of the Conrail system (predominantly lines that had belonged to the former New York Central Railroad). CSX began operating its trains on its portion of the Conrail network on June 1, 1999. CSX now serves much of the Eastern United States, with a few routes into nearby Canadian cities.

In actuality, not all of Conrail was eliminated. There were a few parts of Conrail that both CSX and NS wanted, and neither wanted to allow the other to have total control over. Those small pieces remained owned by the renamed "Conrail Shared Assets," (later "Conrail Shared Assets Operations") so that the pieces were effectively owned and operated by a separate railroad owned by both railroads, thus neither railroad would control those pieces.

Connecting the Dots:

Elizabeth E. Bailey was a director at the CSX Corporation and is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and John F. Kerry’s brother and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.   

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP. 

Carter G. Phillips is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP and was an attorney for CSX Transportation.

American rail freight system is a Class 1 railroad for CSX Transportation.

CSX Transportation is a subsidiary of the CSX Corporation.

T. Martin Fiorentino Jr. was a special counsel for the CSX Corporation and the chief of staff for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Federal Railroad Administration is a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Pete Buttigieg is the Secretary of Transportation for the Joe Biden Administration, attending the latter on a Rhodes Scholarship and a graduate at the University of Oxford.

William T. Coleman Jr. was a secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Richard N. Haass was a Rhodes scholar at the Oxford University and was a VP for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Elizabeth E. Bailey is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was a director at the CSX Corporation.

CSX Transportation is a subsidiary of the CSX Corporation.

T. Martin Fiorentino Jr. was a special counsel for the CSX Corporation and the chief of staff for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Federal Railroad Administration is a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

American rail freight system is a Class 1 railroad for CSX Transportation.

List of Class I railroads

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Class_I_railroads

Current Class I railroads

Today there are just five American owned Class I freight railroad companies and one passenger railroad company (Amtrak). The list also include two Canadian owned Class I freight railroads, both of which have trackage in the US.

·        Amtrak

·        BNSF Railway

·        Canadian National Railway

·        Canadian Pacific Railway

·        CSX Transportation

·        Kansas City Southern Railway

·        Norfolk Southern Railway

·        Union Pacific Railroad

Resources: Past Research

Researcher’s Note: Again I ask the question was this an accident or premeditated? (Past Research on the CSX Corporation)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2018/02/researchers-note-again-i-ask-question.html

Buttigieg Defends Fed Response to Train Derailment in Ohio (Connecting the Dots: Pete Buttigieg, Oxford University, The U.S. Department of Transportation, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Federal Railroad Administration & Soros Funding, All Networking)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2023

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2023/02/buttigieg-defends-fed-response-to-train.html