Norfolk Southern to restore properties affected by cleanup following East Palestine train derailment

Norfolk Southern has now entered what it calls the "restoration phase" following the February 2023 toxic train derailment in East Palestine. 

The company is now taking steps to fix the properties with holes that are present, starting in the area of Leake Oil after crews had excavated soil and contaminants near the derailment site.

"What our goal here is when we're done with restoration activities is all the environmental infrastructure that we've put into respond to the event...that's going to be removed," Norfolk Southern's Regional Manager of Environmental Operations Chris Hunsicker said,  "You're not going to be able to see where the activities happened before."

Hunsicker said the holes in affected properties will be filled with new gravel and stone, and sampling results show the area is clear of contaminated soil as of October.

The process will also include restoring affected streams and ditches. 

Hunsicker said some of those spots will undergo more testing for toxins to ensure all contaminates are gone. 

"We're continuing to do additional testing to double check to make sure there wasn't something that might have been in an area that didn't get caught beforehand," he said, "So we're doing that work, and there's still the work we're doing in the streams to confirm they're in good condition."

Norfolk Southern said the process may increase truck traffic along East Taggart Street between North Pleasant Drive and the PA border.

East Taggart Street will remain open, and Hunsicker said crews are trying to limit that traffic.

Norfolk Southern said this work is expected to continue throughout the winter.