WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
On behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced a complaint March 31 against Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Norfolk Southern) related to the Feb. 3, derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The complaint seeks penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants, oil, and hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act, and declaratory judgment on liability for past and future costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
This action follows EPA’s issuance on Feb. 21, 2023 of a Unilateral Administrative Order under CERCLA to Norfolk Southern Railway Company requiring the company to develop and implement plans to address contamination and pay EPA’s response costs associated with the order.
“When a Norfolk Southern train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, it released toxins into the air, soil, and water, endangering the health and safety of people in surrounding communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community.”
“From the very beginning, I pledged to the people of East Palestine that EPA would hold Norfolk Southern fully accountable for jeopardizing the community’s health and safety,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “No community should have to go through what East Palestine residents have faced. With today’s action, we are once more delivering on our commitment to ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess they made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again.”
“Last month, the East Palestine community was upended by a horrific train derailment. By filing this complaint today, we are demanding accountability from Norfolk Southern for the harm this event has caused,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will tirelessly pursue justice for the people living in and near East Palestine, who like all Americans deserve clean air, clean water, and a safe community for their children.”
“The United States Attorney’s Office stands with our district’s residents in pursuing accountability and justice in both the immediate and distant future, as we work together to deal with the damage and destruction this disaster has caused,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio.
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials, including hazardous substances, pollutants, and oil derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment resulted in a pile of burning rail cars, and contamination of the community’s air, land, and water. Residents living near the derailment site were evacuated. Based on information Norfolk Southern provided, the hazardous materials contained in these cars included vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and benzene residue. Within hours of the derailment, EPA and its federal and state partners began responding to the incident, including providing on-the-ground assistance to first responders and conducting robust testing in and around East Palestine.
The fire caused by the derailment burned for several days. On Feb. 5, monitoring indicated that the temperature in one of the rail cars containing vinyl chloride was rising. To prevent an explosion, Norfolk Southern vented and burned five rail cars containing vinyl chloride in a flare trench the following day, resulting in additional releases.
Since the EPA’s issuance of the Unilateral Administrative Order to Norfolk Southern Railway Company, the EPA has been overseeing that company’s work under the order. Approximately 9.2 million gallons of liquid wastewater, and an estimated 12,932 tons of contaminated soils and solids have been shipped off-site.
The EPA and other federal agencies continue to investigate the circumstances leading up to and following the derailment. The United States will pursue further actions as warranted in the future as its investigatory work proceeds.
EUROPE
FINLAND JOINS NATO
In the wake of Russia’s continued aggression against its neighbor Ukraine, another nation that borders the former USSR has made a bold move.
On April 4, Finland became NATO’s newest member, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. NATO Allies signed Finland’s Accession Protocol on July, 5 2022, after which the then-30 national parliaments voted to ratify the country’s membership.
“We welcome Finland to the Alliance!,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto deposited Finland’s instrument of accession with the government of the United States, represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Secretary General then welcomed Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to NATO Headquarters for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the country’s accession to the Alliance.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the Secretary General thanked President Niinistö for his outstanding leadership and for leading Finland into the most successful Alliance in history. “I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our Alliance and I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible,” he said.
“Joining NATO is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole,” he added. The Secretary General also noted that Finland’s accession shows the world that President Putin failed to ‘slam NATO’s door shut.’ “Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” he said.
The Finnish national anthem and the NATO hymn were played, as Finland’s flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time, in the presence of President Niinistö, Foreign Minister Haavisto, Defence Minister Kaikkonen, the foreign ministers of all NATO Allies and invitee Sweden. Simultaneous flag-raising ceremonies took place at Allied Command Operations (SHAPE) in Mons (Belgium) and Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia (United States).
Standing alongside President Niinistö, the Secretary General said: “Finland is safer and NATO is stronger with Finland as an Ally. Your forces are substantial and highly capable, your resilience is second to none and for many years troops from Finland and NATO countries have worked side-by-side as partners. From today, we stand together as Allies.”
Russia has promised that there will be consequences for Finland’s admission into NATO, though it has not said what those consequences would be.
WORLD
TALIBAN STILL REPRESSING WOMEN
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have issued an order banning women nationals who are UN staff members from continuing to work, the UN spokesperson said on April 4.
“Our colleagues on the ground at the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) received word of an order by the de facto authorities that bans female national staff members of the UN from working,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters at UN Headquarters during the regular daily briefing.
“We are still looking into how this development would affect our operations in the country,” he said. “We expect to have more meetings with the de facto authorities tomorrow in Kabul, on which we are trying to seek some clarity.”
Following Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban in August 2021, the UN remained committed to stay and deliver, while calling for unified support for the country’s people.
Despite relatively constructive initial engagements with Taliban authorities, decisions over the last year by the fundamentalist leadership have included bans on women accessing higher education, working for NGOs, and accessing many public spaces.
Answering questions from reporters, Mr. Dujarric said an official communication coming from the Taliban leadership, had indicated that the order would apply to the whole country.
“We hope we will hear strong voices from the Security Council,” he said, noting that the UN mission operates under its mandate.
For the Secretary-General, any such ban would be unacceptable and “frankly inconceivable”, Mr. Dujarric said.
The reported decision focused on UN staff, is just the latest in a disturbing trend of edicts, undermining the ability of aid organizations to reach those most in need, he added.
“It goes without saying, but unfortunately, it does need saying, that female staff are essential for the United Nations to deliver life-saving assistance,” he said.
“Such orders, as we saw today, violate the fundamental rights of women and infringe upon the principle of non-discrimination,” he said. “Female staff members are essential to ensure the continuation of the UN operations on the ground in Afghanistan.”
