Alan Shaw told Congress his rail company would create a medical compensation fund and a property assurance program to help residents of East Palestine, Ohio, the site of last month’s accident.
The suit, filed in federal court, seeks to force the company to pay civil penalties, costs and damages after the train derailment and controlled burn of toxic chemicals.
In a tight-knit town already skeptical of the government, the lack of concrete information, and the open-ended nature of the crisis, undergird anxiety.
In prepared remarks released before a Senate hearing, the railroad chief executive says he is “determined to make it right” for the people of East Palestine.