Tag: Lawrence County

Norfolk Southern CEO Tells Pennsylvania Senate Panel State Authorities Were ‘Aligned’ on Vent-and-Burn

Bradley Vasoli

Norfolk Southern Corp. Chief Executive Officer Alan Shaw told Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday that the response to February’s Ohio train derailment “worked” and that state officials thoroughly backed it. 

Shaw’s appearance before the state Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee came about as a result of a subpoena earlier this month after the rail-company executive initially declined to speak to the panel. Senators also subpoenaed the corporation’s internal communications related to the wreck, some of which committee Chair Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) said have been turned over and others of which he says he still awaits. 

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Norfolk Southern Faces New Pennsylvania Lawsuit over Ohio Derailment

Bradley Vasoli

The Pittsburgh-based law firm Lynch Carpenter and the Philadelphia-based firm Seeger Weiss this week announced new class-action litigation against the Norfolk Southern rail company for the aftereffects of the February 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

After the accident, Norfolk Southern personnel ordered the venting and burning of five of the train’s cars containing toxic vinyl chloride. The release-and-burn strategy has since drawn widespread denunciation after citizens and public officials pointed out apparent deleterious health and environmental consequences. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) initially supported the “controlled burn” but later reversed himself, claiming he was not informed that the rail corporation would incinerate five cars instead of one.

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Gov Shapiro, Norfolk Southern Broker $7.4 Million Aid Deal

The Center Square

Norfolk Southern agreed this week to reimburse first responders, county relief funds and state agencies nearly $7.4 million in the wake of the February 3 train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday he secured a deal with Alan Shaw, the railroad’s chief executive officer, to cover all of the costs the state incurred responding to the accident, as well as establishing a $1 million community relief fund in Beaver and Lawrence counties for impacted residents and businesses.

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Pennsylvania Residents Speak to State Senate About Ill Effects of Train Burn

Bradley Vasoli

Western Pennsylvanians who live near the site of the February 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent burn went before a State Senate Committee Thursday to state that the event is causing deleterious health consequences.  The 53-car train derailed in the village of East Palestine, Ohio, less than a mile from where the Buckeye State abuts Beaver County in Pennsylvania. In the crash’s aftermath, the train company proceeded to burn five rail cars containing vinyl chloride, a course of action company officials said would avert a potentially disastrous explosion. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) initially supported what has been called the “controlled burn” but has subsequently blasted Norfolk Southern for its handling of the incident, particularly its decision to burn five cars; Shapiro asserted he was only told one car would be incinerated. 

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Report: Pennsylvania Coal Ash Site Sixth-Most Polluted in the U.S

The Center Square

A former coal power plant in western Pennsylvania has one of the most contaminated coal ash sites in the nation.

That’s according to a new report, “Poisonous Coverup,” published by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice. The environmental groups argue that, across America, “nearly all coal plant owners are ignoring key requirements and employing common tricks to avoid mandatory cleanup” of coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal that has various contaminants.

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Commentary: Trump Supporters Swarm Pennsylvania GOP Senate, Gubernatorial Debate

Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The event?

The Lawrence County Republican Party of Pennsylvania holding not one but two debates last week. The first for candidates running for an open U.S. Senate seat, the second for GOP candidates for governor of Pennsylvania, the latter an open seat as well in 2022.

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