Railroad Company to Pay $4 Million Penalty for 2005 Chlorine Spill in Graniteville, SC

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(ATLANTA­­ – March 8, 2010) Norfolk Southern Railway Company has agreed to pay $4 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and hazardous materials laws for a 2005 chlorine spill in Graniteville, S.C., the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

(ATLANTA­­ – March 8, 2010) Norfolk Southern Railway Company has agreed to pay $4 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and hazardous materials laws for a 2005 chlorine spill in Graniteville, S.C., the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

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Under the settlement filed in federal court in Columbia, S.C., Norfolk Southern will be required to pay a civil penalty of $3,967,500 for the alleged CWA violations, to be deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The alleged CWA violations, included in an amended complaint filed in March 2009, are for the discharge of tons of chlorine, a hazardous substance, from a derailed train tank car and thousands of gallons of diesel fuel from ruptured locomotive engine fuel tanks. For the alleged Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) violation for failure to immediately notify the National Response Center of the chlorine release, Norfolk Southern will pay a penalty of $32,500, to be deposited in the Hazardous Substance Superfund.

The settlement addresses the January 6, 2005 Norfolk Southern train derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina. During the derailment, one of the train's tank cars was punctured and released chlorine gas. Nine people died as a result of chlorine exposure and hundreds of people sought medical care due to respiratory distress. The incident resulted in the evacuation of more than 5,000 people living and working within a 1-mile radius of the release area. A cloud of the gas settled over nearby Horse Creek and its tributaries and was absorbed into the water in sufficient quantity to kill hundreds of fish. Two of the engines involved in the crash leaked diesel fuel, a portion of which reached Horse Creek.

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