CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is providing the following statement regarding yesterday’s train derailment near the West Virginia–Virginia border in the East River:
WVDEP is actively monitoring and coordinating the response to yesterday’s train derailment near the West Virginia–Virginia border in the East River.
The train consisted of 129 cars, 13 of which derailed. Agency officials confirmed that only one car entered the stream. That car, which was carrying gas-powered and electric vehicles, should be removed from the water by Thursday.
To date, no sheen has been observed on the water's surface. As a standard precautionary measure, environmental crews have deployed containment booms to protect the waterway. All other derailed cars have been secured and staged for removal from the site.
One of the derailed railcars was carrying approximately 200,000 gallons of soybean oil. While that car did not enter the stream, it released an estimated 14,000 gallons onto the surrounding soil. The leak has since been patched, and the spill was successfully contained on-site. There have been no observations of soybean oil entering the East River.
WVDEP is working in close coordination with Norfolk Southern to ensure appropriate removal and remediation of impacted soil and to monitor conditions in the stream.
The WVDEP will continue to assess the situation and will provide additional information as it becomes available.