Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said state environmental officials made a “criminal referral” against Norfolk Southern – the company who operated the train that derailed in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania border – to the state attorney general’s office.
“My department of environmental protection made a criminal referral to the attorney general’s office,” he said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “My office of general counsel is looking at other legal steps that we might take.” And the Ohio attorney general is also reviewing all actions the law “allows him to take,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. The February 3 disaster ignited a dayslong inferno, shot plumes of black smoke into the air and led to the intentional release of vinyl chloride to help avert a more catastrophic blast. Some residents have reported health problems, and about 3,500 fish have died in Ohio waterways since the wreck.
And the the train operator allegedly gave officials “inaccurate information” and “refused to explore or articulate alternative courses of action,” in the days following the toxic wreck, Shapiro claimed Tuesday. “In sum, Norfolk Southern injected unnecessary risk into this crisis,” he said, adding he plans to hold the company accountable for their actions. CNN has reached out to Norfolk Southern in regards to the governor’s comments and the criminal referral.