(The Associated Press circulated the following on April 24.)
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Federal prosecutors say the owner of a train involved in a deadly chemical spill in South Carolina should be fined for violating the Clean Water Act.
Prosecutors argue in court documents filed Thursday that Norfolk Southern should pay at least $130,000 for discharging chlorine into waterways after the 2005 wreck.
The railroad says it’s disappointed, considering Norfolk Southern’s full cooperation in the investigation and its payment of governmental response costs.
The crash occurred when a Norfolk Southern train rear-ended a parked train whose crew had failed to switch the tracks back to the main rail. The crash released a poisonous cloud of chlorine over a town.
Nine people died and thousands fled.