On March 4 at around 4:45 p.m., 28 train cars containing non-hazardous materials of 212 train cars derailed in Springfield Twp., but there was no spill.
Brown said in the letter that getting Norfolk Southern to communicate about the payments owed has been difficult. He said he had to intervene in the past as well, writing to the company three months ago about compensating the city of Sandusky for work after a derailment in October.
“Despite the fact that Clark County, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and local businesses have all submitted invoices to Norfolk Southern, I understand your company has failed to make timely payments after lengthy delays in processing,” Brown wrote in his letter to Norfolk Southern. “The Clark County Sheriff’s Office Finance Director attempted to call and left voice mails at least five separate times to advise your company of its legal duty to make prompt payments after the County sent documentation and corresponded over e-mail about the delinquent payment for submitted invoices. It should not be this difficult for Ohio first responders to get reimbursed for cleaning up your mess.”
Norfolk Southern did not respond to a request for comment.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Norfolk Southern owes the Clark County Sheriff’s Office more than $87,000 for overtime pay for its deputies who responded to the derailment and its aftermath, Sheriff Deb Burchett said.
“The Clark County Sheriff’s Office answered the call to duty and expended a significant amount of effort and resources guarding and protecting the wreckage of the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in our County,” Burchett said in a release. “All we have ever asked for is fair compensation for our efforts, but all we have received from Norfolk Southern is misdirection, indifference, and delay.”
Norfolk Southern owes the county EMA more than $12,000 and the county’s HAZMAT teams more than $15,500, though county spokesperson Mike Cooper said Wednesday that the company was in contact with the agencies and they expect to receive payment by the end of next week. This was after Brown’s letter was sent.
Springfield Twp. Trustee Tim Foley said Norfolk Southern has paid the township the $32,380 it was owed.
Of the 212 train cars, 31 were labeled as carrying hazardous materials, but those cars remained on the tracks and were unaffected.
Three cars carrying residual amounts of hazardous materials once contained two different kinds of acids and pentanes, said Mark McClain, a Cedarville University chemistry professor in March. Pentanes are used to make packing pellets, construction adhesive and more. Pentanes can also be used as a fuel additive.
McClain said another four cars were carrying benzene, which is used to make different kinds of nylon for clothing and containers, laundry detergent and dishwashing products, pesticides and plastics. Nine cars carried liquid petroleum gas, used in cooking and heating. Others contained alcohols.
The train derailment caused blackouts for 1,500 residents and damaged roads and other infrastructure in the area.
It occurred about a month after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, in which hundreds of thousands of hazardous waste spilled into the air and water.
This was the seventh Norfolk Southern train derailment in the state in a year, Brown wrote. It was the second in Clark County in less than a year, county EMA director Michelle Clements-Pitstick said last month.
“Your full cooperation and repayment is essential to making the people of Ohio whole,” Brown wrote. “That includes living up to your side of the bargain and paying for all damages incurred.”
Brown said in the letter that the Norfolk Southern train derailments in Ohio have “highlighted many known freight rail industry deficiencies in safety practices.”
“Norfolk Southern must take responsibility for the damages and costs borne by the first responders and businesses of Springfield and Clark County,” Brown wrote. “Your full and continued cooperation is expected, and I prompt resolution of and payment for the costs incurred as a result of the Springfield derailment.”
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