(The Democrat and Chronicle posted the following story by Rick Armon on its website on April 1.)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — CSX Transportation needs to quit dillydallying and fully clean up a chemical spill in Charlotte, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Monday.
The delay, especially in cleaning up the Genesee River, is hampering a city project along the waterway and potentially puts taxpayers on the hook for the December 2001 train accident, he said. Schumer wrote a letter Monday to CSX Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Ward expressing his displeasure.
“The bottom line here is not a single citizen of Rochester or Monroe County had anything to do with this damage and the CSX attitude is (the residents) have to pick up the freight,” Schumer said.
In a statement later that day, CSX argued that it has been quite active in the cleanup and that dredging plans are well under way.
“This approach is consistent with our prior response to address the derailment aftermath in an aggressive, comprehensive, environmentally sensitive and technically sound way, ” the company said.
A runaway train crashed along River Street on Dec. 23, 2001, spilling diesel fuel, acetone and methylene chloride. CSX has publicly taken responsibility for the crash and spent much of last year removing contaminated soil.
However, city and CSX officials have disagreed about the extent and speed of the cleanup.
City attorney Linda Kingsley said CSX so far has dragged its feet on dredging the river — something the city says is vital. The company was supposed to submit a dredging plan to the state Department of Environmental Conservation by Feb. 28, but the report still hasn’t been filed, she said.
The company said it committed Feb. 27 in a letter to the DEC to dredge part of the river.
The city had planned to build a walkway, dock and picnic area along the river, but won’t proceed immediately because of the concerns. The project is part of the reconstruction of the port of Rochester in anticipation of a ferry that is to begin trips to and from Toronto next spring.
Kingsley said the city may be forced to pay for the dredging, and then sue CSX to recover the cost.
“They should be paying for it now, ” she said.