The Blubber

Per NBC News

Pennsylvania is calling for the DOJ to investigate the Ohio derailment incident as its governor Josh Shapiro is making an official criminal referral. The move is a step into potentially holding Norfolk Southern for their alleged negligence.

Shapiro: "We've made a criminal referral to the acting attorney general in Pennsylvania to review, and acting Attorney General [Michelle] Henry can speak to that beyond my comments,"

The Pennsylvania governor then said that he was outspoken about the issue and that they were given inaccurate information and conflicting model data. Shapiro also shares how they refused to look for alternative courses of action during the early days of the derailment.

Shapiro: "The combination of Norfolk Southern's corporate greed, incompetence and lack of care for our residents is absolutely unacceptable,"

Ohio governor Mike DeWine shared how citizens that were located near the incident were traumatized. He shared how the communities' citizens were concerned not just for the short-term but also for the long-term effects.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced that Norfolk Southern would have to pay for the cleanups and be compelled to take action for the incident. The East Palestine community is also launching a class-action lawsuit against the rail company.

The statement by Shapiro shared the importance of clean air and pure water and how the incident was considered an environmental crime.

"Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to clean air and pure water, and we will not hesitate to hold anyone or any company responsible for environmental crimes in our Commonwealth.”

Representatives of the Norfolk Southern company decided not to attend public meetings shortly after the incident citing security concerns as their reasons for not being there. During that time, residents within a 1-mile by 3-mile area around East Palestine were evacuated.

Shortly after not showing up, the company announced creating a $1 million fund for victims. For comparison, the company spent $4 billion in stock buybacks in 2022.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

Other News:

• Norfolk Southern Company representatives did not show up to public meeting
• Norfolk Southern, NSC, has announced it is creating a $1 million fund for the victims

Resources:

NBC News

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