Judge signs off on $600 million Ohio train derailment settlement but residents still have questions

A federal judge has signed off on the $600 million class action settlement over last year's disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio, but many people who live near East Palestine are still wondering how much they will end up with out of the deal.

Preliminary approval for the settlement came late Tuesday, so now lawyers involved in the case will return to the community to answer more questions about the deal Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern agreed to this spring.

One of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, Mike Morgan, said the settlement will resolve claims against the railroad and other defendants in the lawsuit, such as the rail car owners and chemical manufacturer that made the vinyl chloride released and burned after the derailment.

But Morgan said this deal won't affect possible future lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the cleanup, or any other government entity. Those agencies weren't defendants in this lawsuit, but there has been significant confusion because broad language in the fine print of the agreement mentions that “governmental agencies, entities, and authorities, whether federal, state, county, or local, their employees, officers, agents, members, and volunteers” are among the released parties.