AKRON, Ohio (Legal Newsline) — Ohio's attorney general has filed a complaint against Norfolk Southern over its February 2023 derailment that resulted in the release of multiple hazardous substances.
AG Dave Yost filed a complaint March 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company alleging violation of Ohio's Hazardous Waste Law and other claims.
According to the complaint, the derailment of Norfolk Southern's train 32N in East Palestine on Feb. 3, 2023, resulted in the release of more than one million gallons of hazardous materials and wastes. The plaintiff claims the hazardous material sent harmful pollutants into the state's air, streams, rivers, soil and groundwater, which killed tens of thousands of fish and other animals and endangered the health of Ohioans.
Yost says Norfolk Southern has a "long string" of train derailments and hazmat incidents with the railway's accident rate nearly doubling in the past 10 years. He alleges Norfolk Southern should have taken appropriate steps to prevent the derailment, as well as should have been prepared to adequately respond to mitigate the damage immediately. The plaintiff also alleges that one or more of the railcars caught fire at least 20 miles west of the derailment area and that the train's crew had been alerted of a mechanical issue with an audible alarm warning.
The suit seeks monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. Ohio is represented by Amber Wootton Hertlein, Karrie Kunkel and Katherine Walker, Assistant Attorneys General Environmental Enforcement Section in Columbus, Ohio.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio case number 4:23-CB-00517