Norfolk Southern CEO To Appear March 20 Before PA Senate Committee To Answer Questions About Ohio/PA Train Derailment; Committee Subpoenas Documents

On March 8, Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Adams), Majority Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, announced Alan Shaw, CEO of Norfolk Southern, will appear before the Committee on March 20 to answer questions about the Ohio/PA train derailment.

Shaw was issued a Committee subpoena to appear before the Committee on March 8.

“We have been in communication with Norfolk Southern and Mr. Shaw. He will testify, however, he's been summoned to go before Congress tomorrow. So that testimony before us unfortunately is delayed,” said Sen. Mastriano.  “So we're continuing the hearing to Monday, March 20th at 10:00 a.m.  in room 8E-B of the state capitol, and there, he will stand before us to answer our questions.”

The Committee also unanimously approved another subpoena for documents related to the train derailment from Norfolk Southern.  Sen. Langerholc (R-Bedford) recused himself from the vote as he did at the last meeting..

“Following our last Committee meeting, I sent a request to Mr. Alan Shaw of Norfolk Southern, asking about certain documents related to the train derailment he provided to this committee in advance of the hearing,” said Sen. Mastriano.  “I believe it's appropriate to formalize this request for documents with a subpoena to ensure that they are made available to us… no later than 9:00 a.m. on Monday, March 20.” 

Sen. Cris Dush (R-Jefferson) commented, “Yes. I just wanted to thank you [Sen. Mastriano]  for your team working with me on this. We were able to clear up. This is basically going to be, from my understanding, a friendly subpoena. They're willing to comply with the documents. 

“And I have to say, I'm actually grateful to see Norfolk Southern stepping up here of late, with their work with the governor and everything. So I'm looking forward to finding out what we can learn. We have a lot to learn from this, lot of lessons to learn from this, and I think the documents will help us out. Thank you,” said Sen. Dush.

Legislation Approved

The Committee also unanimously reported out this legislation--

-- Train Emergency Grant Program: Senate Bill 508 (Mastriano-R-Adams) providing for a Train Derailment Emergency Grant Program to provide financial support for residents and small businesses impacted by the February Ohio/PA train derailment.

-- Recognizing Victims Of Ohio/PA Train Derailment: Senate Resolution 59 (Mastriano-R- Adams) recognizing the impact of the February Ohio/PA train derailment on Pennsylvania residents.

The legislation is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Click Here for a video of the meeting.

Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Adams), Majority Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, and can be contacted by calling 717-787-4651 or sending email to: dmastriano@pasen.gov.    Sen. Katie Muth (D-Montgomery) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1398 or sending email to senatormuth@pasenate.com. 

[Note: The U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works will hear from the CEO of Norfolk Southern on March 9 starting at 10:00 a.m.  Read more here.]

Related Article: 

-- Gov. Shapiro Announces Agreement With Norfolk Southern To Pay $7.38 Million In Initial Response Costs, Costs To Businesses, Residents From Train Derailment  [PaEN] 

[Posted: March 8, 2023]  PA Environment Digest