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Friday morning it was announced the U.S. Justice Department had filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern as a result of the February derailment in East Palestine.
The suit is focused on the damages to the waterways as a result of the chemicals which spilled from the train cars and into nearby streams, but officials note it also is a way to "hold accountable" the rail company.
The State of Ohio has filed its own legal action with a similar basis.
We have heard it still will be a few months before the contiminated soil is fully removed from the area of the derailment. Of course, the chemicals which made their way into the streams, creeks and, eventually, the Ohio River, have long made their way out of the area, with any traces probably somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico by now.
The health concerns of the people of East Palestine will remain, even after all of the physical cleanup is completed. Hopefully, if there are any damages awarded as a result of these government lawsuits, it is the people of East Palestine who receive them. That, of course, will be determined through the judicial process.
What after all that, though?
Perhaps it is a result of the East Palestine incident, but there certainly has been a major focus on train derailments in the last several weeks. It seems as if we can't go more than a couple of days without hearing of at least one somewhere in the country.
The fact is, it's nothing new.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were 1,340 derailments in 2019, with 1,114 in 2020, 1,095 in 2021 and 1,164 in 2022. That works out to between three and four derailments per day. It also appears as if around one-third of those derailments were, at least in part, the result of track issues.
In those same times, the FRA has recorded 114 collisions in 2019, 98 in 2020, 95 in 2021, and 99 in 2022.
Transportation is a key component in the way our nation, and our world, operates. Without it,whether it be rail, highway, air or water, much of our way of life comes to a screeching halt. Forget the idea of limiting our economy to just the United States, as some might hope to see happen, everything will shrink to a more regional approach.
Our modes of transportation need investment. Rail lines need contant upkeep, rail companies need to make sure their equipment is in the proper working order. Airlines must invest in whatever equipment, software, etc. they need to make certain their planes are able to operate safely and efficiently. There have been a seemingly growing number of air delays lately, if you hadn't noticed.
Highways need proper maintenance and waterways need to stay clean and clear.
Of course, all of these things include the need to invest in the people who go out every day to take care of these infrastructural assets.
Government works more slowly than any of us would like, and these days it seems to spend more time focusing on ways to get us to fight with each other than solving any of our real problems. In a better world, we would be looking to find ways to build toward our future instead of constantly looking to the past.
It might not prevent every accident from happening, but if it can help to reduce them, and possibly even save someone's life, then it has to be worth trying, right?
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)