In the wake of Norfolk Southern’s catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the Department of Justice is filing a lawsuit to hold the company accountable for the environmental damage. Seeking to impose fines under the 1972 Clean Water Act, the DOJ accused the company of “unlawfully polluting the nation’s waterways” and promised “to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup.” Though federal agencies do not claim to have found unhealthy levels of pollution in East Palestine’s air and water, residents have told a different story, recounting alarming symptoms including headaches and trouble breathing, as well as stories of mass fish die-offs in the area’s creeks. The federal lawsuit joins litigation already filed by the state of Ohio and will be on top of the $28 million Norfolk Southern has pledged to assist in the community’s recovery.
Read it at Associated Press
