Ohio River Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Norfolk Southern Settles East Palestine Derailment Lawsuit For $600 Million

Norfolk Southern plans to pay residents and businesses $600 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over a February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Still pending court approval, the settlement does not contain any admission of liability or wrongdoing from the rail company.

The agreement would resolve class action complaints within 20 miles from the site of derailment, and personal injury claims within 10 miles.

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate from the East Palestine area after the derailment, which preliminary reports suggested was caused by a faulty wheel bearing on one of the train’s freight cars.

Settlement payment recipients would be able to use the money as they see fit. But some residents worry that the settlement money would be minimal when divided among all claimants, according to the Associated Press.

Norfolk Southern made national headlines last year after approximately 50 of its freight cars derailed while containing toxic chemicals like vinyl chloride. Used in many plastic products, this chemical is carcinogenic and fatal to many animal species.

After the derailment, rail workers set chemicals in the freight cars on fire to prevent their spill. But the National Transportation Safety Board later deemed these burns — which set tens of thousands of gallons of hazardous materials ablaze — unnecessary.

The derailment and subsequent burning prompted an outpouring of environmental and health concerns from local residents.

Attorneys representing Norfolk Southern told the Associated Press that the settlement funds aim to offer residents and businesses relief after the derailment and subsequent year of investigation.

To date, Norfolk Southern has spent more than $1.1 billion responding to the incident, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency said did not constitute a public health emergency last week.

Environmental and health concerns associated with the derailment extended to West Virginia, with the state border located less than 20 miles away from the incident.

Concerns stemmed from the derailment’s proximity to the Ohio River, a waterway that forms West Virginia’s western border and directly touches 12 different counties.

Gov. Jim Justice said in February 2023 that state officials had not detected a dangerous concentration of chemicals in the state’s drinking water following the derailment.

Scott Mandirola, deputy secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, also said that water samples collected from the Ohio River contained low concentrations of the chemical butyl acrylate, but that they did not pose a threat to public health.

Mandirola said that air quality tests in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle likewise did not suggest the presence of threats to public health.

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., the derailment’s aftermath spurred promises of train safety reform and, this year, a new policy for train crews.

Last week, the Federal Railroad Administration announced all domestic trains must have a crew of at least two members. The policy was first developed under the administration of former President Barack Obama, but was pushed forward by the derailment in East Palestine.

While the new policy begins to take effect, the Norfolk Southern settlement will await a final court decision before settlement payments are initiated.

The settlement plan could be submitted for court approval as early as this month, and settlement payments could begin before the year ends, according to the Associated Press.

Flood Preps Increase Along Ohio River

Flood warnings continued on Thursday for West Virginia communities along the Ohio River. Two counties are hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.

In Mason County, rising backwaters from the Ohio River are forcing several road closures. Jeremy Bryant, Mason County’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said all county schools are closed for the rest of the week. He said in Point Pleasant, it takes about a 50-foot Ohio River flood stage to activate flood wall gating and pumping.

“We’re right now sitting at 45 feet at Point Pleasant and just keeping an eye on the prediction,” Bryant said. “If it would rise any at all, then they’re probably going to have to activate and start looking and putting the flood walls in.”

Bryant said the Ohio River crest is not expected until Saturday. He said the county continues to monitor river levels, communicate with residents and make flood preparations, including possible evacuations.

“There will be places that are shut off, but it’s more of a shut off thing rather than an imminent danger thing,” Bryant said. “We’re making sure that people are aware and let them make their own decisions at this point. If it comes to an evacuation, we’ll deal with it at that time.”

In the Parkersburg area, Wood County 911 Emergency Service Deputy Director Dale McEwuen said some roadways are obstructed and the Red Cross is on standby.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is doing a real good job of controlling the flow of the water,” McEwuen said. “That helps with the flooding purposes. And right now we don’t have any folks displaced from their homes.”

He said they are issuing constant social media alerts as Ohio River water inches toward downtown Parkersburg.

“Our flood wall in Parkersburg is down at the point,” McEwuen said.“It’s called Point Park. It has been closed and there’s water up to it. That prevents water from coming into our downtown area.”

Both counties have first responders on standby as they closely watch the rising river waters. McEwuen said it’s all about watching the numbers now.

“We’re expecting the water to start receding on Sunday,” McEwuen said. “It’s still going to climb probably another two feet between now and then. It will crest at about 41 feet on Sunday and should start receding after that.”

Point Pleasant’s Silver Bridge Disaster In 1967 Improved Bridge Safety

The Silver Bridge collapse, on the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, killed 46 people. After it, the Federal Highway Administration began using National Bridge Inspection Standards.

The collapse of a highway bridge in Baltimore Harbor may remind some West Virginians of a tragedy that changed how bridges nationwide are inspected.

Before the Silver Bridge failed on the evening of Dec. 15, 1967, there was no national standard for bridge inspection.

The Silver Bridge collapse, on the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, killed 46 people. In 1971, the Federal Highway Administration began using National Bridge Inspection Standards.

They required the inspection of bridges and their components at least once every two years, with emphasis on fractures, corrosion and fatigue – all of which played a part in the Silver Bridge’s failure.

Stan Bumgardner, a state historian and editor of the West Virginia Encyclopedia, says technology today could have spotted the hidden flaw in the Silver Bridge. It couldn’t then.

“Now, today, they have, you know, techniques where you can get cameras, and you can see places where you couldn’t have seen in 1967. But in 1967 nobody really ever faulted the bridge inspectors for missing anything, just because it wasn’t part of the routine to check for that. And it would have been virtually impossible, they would have had to have been looking for. a needle in a haystack and knowing where the needle was, and still trying to find it.”

Bumgardner says he’s spoken to people in the community who not only remember that day, but remember the people who were killed. Some were classmates or members of the same church. Some were neighbors. One man lost both his parents.

He says the memory is so strong, decades later, that incidents like the one in Baltimore remind people of it.

“I’m sure for people in Point Pleasant who remember, December the 15th 1967, that anytime there’s any of these bridge incidents, collapses, problems with where they have to shut down bridges, even where they’re even no deaths involved. I’m sure it takes all those people in Point Pleasant back to 1967. And they remember exactly where they were and how they felt right then.”

As with the Silver Bridge then, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Baltimore collapse now. It could take the agency as long as two years to produce a report.

And from there, changes will be made to improve bridge safety from the lessons learned.

PFAS Concerns Loom Over Chemours Permit For Washington Works

Chemours applied in January for a permit to discharge treated wastewater from its Washington Works plant in Wood County.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is accepting public comment on a permit one group says would allow the discharge of PFAS into the Ohio River.

Chemours applied in January for a permit to discharge treated wastewater from its Washington Works plant in Wood County.

The West Virginia Rivers Coalition says this would result in the release of PFAS, or forever chemicals, into the Ohio River.

The DEP held a virtual public comment hearing on the permit on March 4. The comment period closes next week, on March 14.

In December, Chemours agreed to sample and test soil, surface water, groundwater and waste streams around the Washington Works plant for the presence of PFAS.

The plant has been in operation since 1951, and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has manufactured products containing PFAS and has released PFAS in its operations.

According to Chris Hickey, a regional communications manager for Chemours, Washington Works is the only U.S. facility that manufactures Teflon PFA, a type of PFAS.

Teflon PFA is in high demand to make semiconductors, Hickey said, because of the federal CHIPS Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

“To construct and operationalize additional PFA supply capacity, and with strong support throughout our value chain, we applied for a permit modification through the WV Department of Environmental Protection,” Hickey said. “We worked cooperatively with WV DEP through its process, which included agency evaluation of the permit application and engagement with regional EPA officials.”

In addition, Hickey said, the Washington Works makes materials used in electric vehicles and charging stations, also in high demand because of the national effort to electrify transportation.

“The world depends on our products, and we are committed to manufacturing these essential chemistries responsibly,” he said.

No Funds To Repair, Replace Closed Ohio River Bridge

On Dec. 21, the department shut down the Market Street Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River from Brooke County to Steubenville, Ohio.

State transportation officials closed a bridge in the Northern Panhandle last month, and the funds are not there to fix or replace it.

State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston told lawmakers Tuesday that none of the nearly 7,000 bridges in West Virginia would be open if they were not safe.

On Dec. 21, his department shut down the Market Street Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River from Brooke County to Steubenville, Ohio.

The closure of the bridge, built in 1905, angered local officials. But Wriston estimated the bridge would cost tens of millions of dollars to fix – funds he doesn’t have.

“If we were fortunate enough to get an earmark, one of our senators sent me a $60 million down here today and said, ‘Have at it.’ Oh, we’ll start the process today,” Wriston said Tuesday. “But I don’t have Market Street in our six-year plan. It’s not there.”

Federal funds have been made available under the 2021 infrastructure law to fix bridges.

The Division of Highways plans to inspect the 1,800-foot bridge later in the month without a live load. It said the steel strands inside the bridge’s support cables have been rapidly deteriorating.

Chemours Will Sample For PFAS At Washington Works Site, EPA Says

The EPA says the Chemours Company will sample soil, surface water, sediment and groundwater for PFAS at its Washington Works site near Parkersburg.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with a chemical company to sample for “forever chemicals” at a Wood County site.

The EPA says the Chemours Company will sample soil, surface water, sediment and groundwater for PFAS at its Washington Works site near Parkersburg.

The EPA, along with officials in Ohio and West Virginia, want to determine the extent of PFAS contamination at the site. PFAS have been produced and released there since 1951, according to the agency. The facility remains in operation.

The 1,200 acre site along the Ohio River also includes volatile organic compounds.

PFAS break down very slowly over time and have been scientifically proven to harm people and animals, the EPA says. Yet they are present in food products, water, air and soil and even in the blood of people and animals.

Products made with PFAS include firefighting foam and nonstick cookware.