Two separate lawsuits filed by federal and state officials against Norfolk Southern for the East Palestine derailment have been merged into one.

U.S. District Court Judge John Adams on Wednesday handed down an order to consolidate the Department of Justice/U.S. EPA lawsuit with an action filed against the railroad earlier by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Ohio’s 58-count complaint filed on March 14 looks to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the actions that led up to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine on February 3rd.

On behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on March 31 that would hold Norfolk Southern accountable for illegally polluting waterways and aims to ensure the company pays the full cost of the environmental cleanup.

Ohio Attorney General Yost alleges that the derailment of 39 cars caused the release of more than 1 million gallons of toxic chemicals into the environment including waterways like Sulfur Run, Leslie Run, Bull Creek, North Fork Little Beaver Creek, Little Beaver Creek, and the Ohio River.

Yost called the derailment avoidable.

The civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking recovery of response costs to the Feb 3 derailment and cleanup, alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act covering the discharge of pollutants and oil into local waterways.

The U.S. claims the derailment led to the combustion of the hazardous materials carried on the train and their subsequent release into the air, soil, groundwater, and waterways.

Judge Adams denied a motion to transfer the case to U.S. District Court Judge Benita Pearson, who is presiding over a class action lawsuit filed by attorneys representing 31 residents, workers, businesses, and other entities that claim they suffered property damage and health issues from the train derailment and subsequent “controlled burn” of chemicals remaining in tankers.