In order to completely clean up the scene of a flaming train derailment that happened last month in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, Norfolk Southern has decided to only work with Ohio-based companies.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Wednesday that he said he believed it was a good idea for the railroad to recruit businesses from throughout the state to carry out the work, which may take two years to complete.
“We didn’t ask for this accident to happen here in Ohio or in East Palestine, and we would be quite happy not to have to deal with it. But since this accident did happen, I’m pleased that Norfolk Southern has signed off on the agreement and that Ohio businesses are going to benefit,” Yost said.
Yost noted that the attorney general’s agreement with Norfolk Southern will not effect the lawsuit the state filed earlier this month against the rail company.
According to Yost, a federal administrative order requires Norfolk Southern to spend “millions and millions of dollars” on remediation and he wants this money to go to Ohio firms and workers rather than go out of state.
“Ohioans are highly capable, so there’s no reason to look elsewhere,” Yost said.
President and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce Guy Coviello praised Yost for prioritizing Ohio businesses in this agreement with Norfolk Southern.
“Attorney General Dave Yost has been on top of the East Palestine situation from the moment it happened. Ours is the third-largest chamber of commerce in Ohio with 3,000 members, so the ‘business first’ focus that he is placing on this, as well as the safety of the people of East Palestine, is very gratifying to us,” Coviello said.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said that he will commit to hiring Ohio businesses and workers to perform the East Palestine cleanup.
“Norfolk Southern will be in East Palestine as long as it takes to help the community recover and thrive. As we make progress every day, we are continuing our efforts to hire Ohio companies and Ohio workers to perform future work in the East Palestine area. We look forward to supporting local businesses,” Shaw said.
The ongoing cleanup is currently being conducted by fifteen Ohio-based businesses. Yost’s agreement allows Norfolk Southern to choose a vendor from another state in the unlikely event that none of the Ohio businesses are qualified to carry out a certain task.
This includes any upcoming Norfolk-Southern projects in East Palestine, according to Yost.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “East Palestine Soil Extraction” by Norfolk Southern.
