Members of the U.S. Senate announced Wednesday that Norfolk Southern railroad will establish a fund to compensate East Palestine homeowners for declines in their property values caused by a Feb. 3 train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals.
to Brown, Vance and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Maria Cantwell of Washington Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw agreed to establish the fund immediately instead of waiting for litigation to end.
Federal and state officials have repeatedly said it’s safe for evacuated residents to return to the area. They say air testing in the town and inside hundreds of homes hasn’t detected any concerning levels of contaminants. The state says the local municipal drinking water system is not polluted, and bottled water is available while testing is conducted for those with private wells.
Cantwell, a Democrat who chairs the Commerce Committee, said she backs the Railway Safety Act of 2023. It would also create new safety requirements and procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials like the vinyl chloride, such as requiring rail carriers to provideto state emergency response officials about what they are transporting, requiring more rigorous safety inspections, setting rules for train size and weight and imposing requirements to prevent blocked rail crossings.
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