Railroad settles in 2005 chlorine spill

WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- A railroad company will pay a $4 million penalty for a 2005 chlorine spill that left nine dead in Graniteville, S.C., the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.

Under the settlement filed in federal court in Columbia, S.C., Norfolk Southern Railway Co. will pay a civil penalty of $3.97 million for allegedly violating the federal Clean Water Act, the Justice Department said in a release. The alleged violations include discharging tons of chlorine from a derailed train tank car and thousands of gallons of diesel fuel from ruptured locomotive engine fuel tanks.

Norfolk Southern will pay $32,500 in penalties for allegedly violating the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act by failing to immediately notify the National Response Center about the release.

The Jan. 6, 2005, train derailment resulted in nine deaths because of chlorine exposure and hundreds of people seeking medical care for respiratory distress, the Justice Department said. The spill prompted more than 5,000 people to be evacuated, and a chlorine gas cloud settled over nearby Horse Creek and its tributaries and enough chlorine was absorbed into the water to kill hundreds of fish.

The agreement requires Norfolk Southern to provide training to environmental and transportation personnel; restock a nearby pond and post the telephone number for the National Response Center to facilitate spill reporting. The settlement includes funding to plant anti-erosion vegetation along the banks of Horse Creek.