New counsel for engineer
Malizia will be sworn in as District Attorney

A new counsel will have to be retained by the engineer of a speeding Norfolk Southern train that derailed in June 2006 near Gardeau, causing a devastating lye spill.

Michael Seifert, 46, of West Seneca, N.Y., has been represented by Emporium attorney Paul Malizia, who will be sworn in as Cameron County District Attorney in January. As a prosecutor, Malizia will no long handle criminal defense cases.

Judge John Yoder of McKean County last week ruled against Malizia's motion to have criminal charges against Seifert dismissed.

The attorney argued that the charges of improperly disposing of hazardous waste weren't applicable to Seifert because the lye being transported in the railroad cars was hazardous material, rather than "waste."

Deputy Attorney General Glenn Parno countered that once the chemical was spilled, it became waste.

"Hazardous material becomes hazardous waste if spilled or discharged," Yoder wrote in his ruling.

Norfolk Southern has pleaded no contest to criminal charges alleging unlawful conduct for its part in the derailment and subsequent pollution event. The company has also agreed to a civil settlement of $7.35 million to the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection and Pa. Fish and Boat Commission.