NORFOLK TO COUGH UP $7.5M
Railroad company, state reach settlement-

Jim Zoschg (left) was thanked for his efforts in helping build a criminal case against Norfolk Southern by McKean County DA John Pavlock after Thursday's press conference. It was announced that the rail company had taken responsibility for its role in a derailment that resulted in a chemical spill.

Waterways and wetlands in McKean and Cameron counties that were damaged in a June 2006 lye spill will benefit from a landmark settlement between the state and Norfolk Southern Railway.

"We negotiated long and hard to reach this point, keeping in mind the environmental and economic injuries that this region suffered as a result of the spill," DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said Thursday in announcing the agreement during a news conference at the Cameron County Little League Baseball Complex. "This settlement will help heal the ecosystem and provide the needed resources for nearby communities."

A large part of the $7.35 million settlement -- approximately $6.76 million -- will go to community organizations or be used by the commonwealth to support environmental restoration work and fund other important community improvement projects.

"The projects will help re-establish the natural resources of Cameron, Potter, Clearfield, Elk and McKean counties so residents can again enjoy the recreational and sporting opportunities that were available before the spill," McGinty said.

Under the agreement, DEP's nearly $3.2 million share will go directly to the Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development Council to support projects in the Sinnemahoning Portage Creek Watershed and the Driftwood Branch of the Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed.

Within the council, a stakeholders committee consisting of local public representatives, county officials and state agency delegates will evaluate potential environmental projects for funding. The stakeholder committee will meet in January to finish identifying the projects that may qualify for endowment support.

Norfolk Southern will pay an additional $500,000 to DEP to cover the costs of responding to the June 30, 2006, train derailment that released 42,000 gallons of lye, which is also known as liquid sodium hydroxide or caustic soda. DEP continues to address the consequences of the spill.

The agreement also provides $3.68 million to the Pa. Fish and Boat Commission.

This settlement is separate from the criminal charges filed against Norfolk Southern and the derailed train's conductor by the McKean County District Attorney and the Pa. Attorney General.

The proposed settlement agreement is available for review at the Cameron County Conservation District Office, 20 East Fifth St., Room 105, Emporium.

Norfolk Southern has completed cleanup at the site but it is obligated to continue monitoring the restoration efforts.

The June 2006 spill occurred near Gardeau, McKean County, and wiped out fish and aquatic life in Big Fill Hollow and an 11-mile segment of Sinnemahoning-Portage Creek, which is designated as an exceptional value and wild trout stream. It also affected the fisheries in the Driftwood Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek.

The effects of the spill were observed as far as 30 miles downstream from the derailment site, with much of the impact in Cameron County.

Fish populations have substantially rebounded below the spill site.

Since the spill, the DEP, Pa. Fish & Boat Commission and the Cameron and McKean District Attorneys' offices have been working in a joint effort to determine the fiscal and environmental repercussions of the disaster.

Cameron County Commissioner Glenn Fiebig recalled the day of the spill.

"On the day of the spill, I was here (at the ballfields) and I could not believe what I saw. I could not believe what I smelled," he said. "Since then, I've seen so many (people) come together. Everybody cooperated and we now have reached a settlement and have money set aside to keep working. I think we're headed in the right direction."