The state of Ohio has sued the Norfolk Southern rail company after a train derailment in East Palestine, which forced emergency crews to burn a hazardous chemical over the village.
The lawsuit was announced Tuesday by the state's attorney general.
The suit claims that Norfolk Southern violated several state and federal laws governing the transportation and handling of hazardous waste, water pollution, air pollution, and operational negligence, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
The state is demanding damages, civil penalties and a "declaratory judgement that Norfolk Southern is responsible," he said during a press briefing.
Mr Yost said that the accident was "entirely avoidable," and noted that Norfolk Southern has seen an 80 per cent increase in accidents over the last 10 years.
"The fallout from this highly preventable accident is going to reverberate through Ohio and Ohioans for many years to come," he said.
The train derailment in East Palestine occurred in early February. The burning of hazardous vinyl chloride the train was hauling has caused widespread fear in the village. Residents are concerned that the chemicals will seep into the groundwater, cause them long-term health problems, and hurt local businesses in a region that has long faced economic hardship.
Mr Yost said some railworkers working at the derailment site have reported feeling ill, and said residents he spoke with have been experiencing sore throats and other irritations after spending time near the site.
He said there are "lots of things that we don't know yet" about the long-term consequences of the derailment.
“A big point of this lawsuit is to make sure that those long-term effects are not only not forgotten but they are addressed,” Mr Yost said.
The EPA under the Biden administration has already issued a binding order on Norfolk Southern that will force them to adhere to the agency's clean-up standards and to pay for the work or face fines that triple the cost of the clean-up.
“This was an epic disaster, and the cleanup is going to be expensive,” Mr Yost said. “It’s going to take some significant dollars to put the people of East Palestine back as close as possible to the position they were before Feb. 3.”
The NTSB is still investigating the crash, but said in its preliminary findings that the derailment was "100 per cent preventable" and has recommended changes to rail safety measures, which are largely set by companies operating trains.
