HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced a ten-year commitment to monitor water resources for any impacts resulting from the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern fire, derailment, and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, and subsequent vent and burn.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the DEP said that while no water contamination has been found related to the derailment, the Shapiro Administration’s long-term testing plan is designed to give Lawrence and Beaver County residents peace of mind.

The DEP says it will continue to sample private drinking water wells in Pennsylvania within a one-mile radius of the derailment site over the next ten years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirms Norfolk Southern’s active remediation is complete.

The commitment is included in a proposed federal consent decree between the EPA and Norfolk Southern, which includes funding for the work. Additionally, DEP will oversee Norfolk Southern’s testing of three groundwater monitoring wells located in Pennsylvania.

The statement says Governor Josh Shapiro and Attorney General Michelle Henry are pushing Norfolk Southern to go further asking for the agreement to include more expansive testing, as well as payment from the railroad for health treatment costs for those impacted, stronger monitoring provisions to expand monitoring beyond two miles out from the derailment site, and that Norfolk Southern adopt all the recommendations on rail safety from the NTSB final report on the

DEP says it will continue precautionary monitoring of drinking water and groundwater for an additional ten years after Norfolk Southern ends its cleanup activities.

 “There has not been any detection of ongoing contamination related to the derailment and subsequent controlled burn. DEP will continue to monitor the private drinking water and groundwater to make sure that if there is an issue down the road we can both alert residents and take action to address it immediately,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley.

 In April, the Pennsylvania Department of Health conducted a second round of Assessment of Chemical Exposure surveys to assess the health impacts of the derailment for residents and first responders. Results of the latest surveys are being analyzed and will be amended later this fall to the initial ACE surveys of residents and first responders which were conducted following the derailment.