Growing concern following Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio Frustration is growing in East Palestine, Ohio, after a toxic train derailment earlier this month.
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On February 3rd, the peace of mind of the entire East Palestine community went up in smoke, literally and permanently. So did property values. Had a ruthless army of barbarians pillaged and looted the town overnight of its wealth, as well as health, the economic and environmental damage inflicted by the preventable Norfolk Southern derailment would still be greater.
This multi-billion dollar corporation must pay for the full depth and breadth of its colossal damage. Simply saying "sorry" and committing "to make it right" will not cut it. Norfolk Southern must put its money where its mouth is. The $24 million Norfolk Southern claims to have invested in the stricken community, as stated on its propagandistic nsmakingitright website is a mere pittance of what justice demands.
The common policy of "if you break it, you buy it" applies here. Norfolk Southern destroyed East Palestine, and the compensatory price tag is in the billions, not millions. And unlike its many victims in East Palestine, Norfolk Southern is far from broke. As is generally known, Norfolk Southern raked in over $3 billion in profit last year and also dished out some $10 billion in stock buybacks to enrich its shareholders. Largely unreported until recently is the purchase by Norfolk Southern of the nation's only municipally-owned railway, the Cincinnati Southern Railway, for $1.6 billion. The deal was approved by CSR's Board of Trustees in late 2022, but for it to be finalized state law needs to be revised; a public referendum on the sale needs to be approved by voters in November; and subsequent approval by federal officials is required. The process hit a recent roadblock with the first requirement.
According to state law (Ferguson Act of 1869), funds derived from CSR's sale can only be used to pay off public debt. However, city officials intend to use sale proceeds for rehabilitation and modernization of urban infrastructure. An amendment to that effect was added to the state's $12.6 billion transportation budget, but it was removed by Senate Republicans on March 14, the same day Ohio's Attorney General sued Norfolk Southern. The state's lawsuit claims the derailment "has caused substantial damage to the regional economy and the State of Ohio, its citizens and its businesses"; among the demands for restitution is "repayment of damages under common law - notably natural resource damages, property damages, and economic harm to the state and its residents".
Litigation such as this and many similar lawsuits will likely take years to adjudicate. But Norfolk Southern's victims need relief now. That $1.6 billion payment by Norfolk Southern for ownership of Cincinnati Southern Railway, now in jeopardy, is just the kind of relief East Palestine needs now. Norfolk Southern needs to make that $1.6 billion available to all residents and businesses who wish to escape this toxic cage. Buying the property, at pre-disaster value, of its victims will not maximize corporate profit,
but it just may help to minimize a guilty conscience. It is the right thing to do, now.
Sign the petition: change.org/FreeEastPalestineVictimsTrappedinToxicCage.
