As the residents of East Palestine grapple with the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and the fallout from the subsequent “controlled burn” of vinyl chloride contained in five carriages on Thursday, attorney Charles Burnham appeared on WarRoom to discuss where the responsibility lies for damages inflicted on the residents there, and what the consequences could be for the individuals directly involved.
Burnam said, “The ultimate responsibility rests with the federal government.”
He continued:
You alluded to the criminal possibilities here, and I think those possibilities are very real. Both the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act could potentially apply to this situation. And an interesting thing about those two statutes is they have provisions to impose criminal liability, including prison time, based on a simple negligence standard.Â
Most criminal statutes require some proof of intentional wrongdoing. Environmental crimes aren’t like that.
And so if the evidence should emerge – and there are several lawsuits that are making this exact allegation, that Norfolk Southern or others were negligent in their handling of the wreck and its aftermath – criminal allegations and charges could be a real possibility.
Watch:
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