WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern Corp. has recorded $30 million for environmental exposure liabilities at Sept. 30, according to a document filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reported Dow Jones Newswires.
Of that amount, $8 million has been accounted for as a current liability.
The liability represented the company’s estimate of the probable cleanup and remediation costs based on available information at 124 known locations, the filing said.
At Sept. 30, nine sites accounted for $15 million of the liability, and no individual site was considered to be material, the filing said.
Norfolk Southern said it is probable that much of this liability will be paid out over five years; however, some costs are expected to be paid out over a longer period.
The filing said that at some of the 124 locations, the company’s subsidiaries have been identified as potentially responsible parties by the Environmental Protection Agency or similar state authorities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, or comparable state statutes.
The applicable laws often impose joint and several liability for cleanup costs, Norfolk Southern said.
The filing said the company’s units were identified as potentially responsible parties usually along with a number of other parties.
Norfolk Southern is a holding company that owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway Co., which operates about 21,800 miles of road in 22 states, Washington, D.C., and Ontario province.