After nearly two years, Norfolk Southern Corporation and East Palestine have reached a settlement agreement for the train derailment that occurred on February 3, 2023.

The settlement will have Norfolk Southern paying $22 million to East Palestine for projects related to the derailment.

It also includes recognition of $13.5 million Norfolk Southern had already paid to the village for police equipment, water treatment improvements and the renovation of the East Palestine train depot.

Norfolk Southern will also keep with their $25 million commitment to improve the East Palestine City Park.

The village of East Palestine and Norfolk Southern have agreed to cease creation and operation of a proposed regional safety training center and the lands ownership will be transferred to the village. The media release stated that Norfolk Southern remains committed to providing training for East Palestine’s first responders at other facilities in the region.

This comes after a federal court approved a $600 million dollar settlement for the 55,000 claim applicants.

Resident Jess Conard has been vocal about the lack of transparency, and she said these funds won't provide peace of mind regarding potential long-term health effects and costs. She also points to the lack of testing done for some residents, two years later. 

"I highly doubt that any of this $22 million settlement will be used directly on the residents in terms of health care," Conard said, "It would be nice to see some residential soil and air testing, which is what we had been asking for as well. I would imagine most of it is going to go to infrastructure and economic growth."

Below is the release detailing the settlement.