Oversight Democrats say Norfolk Southern is stonewalling East Palestine investigation

Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee issued a new request Thursday for documents from Norfolk Southern, alleging the railroad company has failed to produce documents on its derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this year.

In the letter, ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and the panel’s other Democrats said CEO Alan Shaw has failed to produce all information requested in a March letter. The company has only partially complied, they wrote, producing predominantly publicly available materials. Norfolk Southern has also falsely claimed federal regulations keep them from producing all of the requested documents, according to the panel.

“Among other missing items, your company has not provided any internal documents regarding its implementation of precision scheduled railroading practices and their effects on Norfolk Southern’s operations and financial position, nor has your company provided documents regarding positions cut as part of workforce reductions,” the members wrote.

“Your company has also not provided documents relating to its internal policies regarding wayside detectors and sensors, and it has not provided its communications with state and federal agency officials involved in the response to the East Palestine derailment,” they added.

The Hill has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment.

A train carrying a number of hazardous substances — including vinyl chloride, which is used in the production of plastics — derailed in East Palestine in February. While no deaths or injuries have yet been directly linked to the crash, fish in nearby waterways and local wildlife died following the derailment.

The Environmental Protection Agency has invoked the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which requires Norfolk Southern to cover cleanup and other costs.

An ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board has since determined that track sensors detected a rapidly overheating wheel bearing on the train just before the derailment, but by the time it reached the overheating threshold required to stop the train, it was too late to avert the crash.