SALEM, Va. – The Norfolk Southern Railway Company has agreed to pay a civil charge of $27,300 after coal hopper rail cars derailed and spilled into the Roanoke River in 2020, according to the consent order.
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On Oct. 30, 2020, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality responded to the train derailment, which happened at the Barley Drive trestle west of Salem, documents showed.
We’re told that 26 coal hopper rail cars loaded with 2,600 tons of coal derailed, with 16 cars and an unknown amount of coal ending up in the Roanoke River.
Officials said that the spill caused coal accumulation at the Salem Water Plant intake, which is about 3.4 miles downstream from the spill site, and notable deposits of fill material were found for nearly 6.5 miles toward the Salem Rotary Park area. Because of the spill, the Salem Water Plant intake was closed until Dec. 1, according to the order.
[READ MORE: Crews continue clean up following Roanoke County train derailment]
Days later on Dec. 4, officials said Norfolk Southern submitted a report to show they were working to remove the coal from the river, and on Jan. 25, 2021, the VDEQ issued a Notice of Violation involving pollution to water.
As cleanup continued, water monitoring and sampling continued through July 29, 2021, when the VDEQ said the stations’ riffles habitats were free of coal particles, documents showed.
Later on, the VDEQ determined that Norfolk Southern had violated the codes noted in the Notice of Violation, according to the consent order. With the result, Norfolk Southern was ordered, and agreed, to pay a civil charge of $27,3000 in settlement of the violations cited.