Norfolk Southern takes responsibility for Ohio crash environment cleanup, CFO says

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Norfolk Southern will "take responsibility" for cleaning up after a Feb. 3 train derailment and subsequent controlled detonation of hazardous materials released a black plume of dangerous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, the company CFO said on Wednesday.

"We take responsibility ... We're fully dedicated to making things right," Mark George, Norfolk Southern's chief financial officer, said at an investor conference hosted by Barclays.

A day earlier, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern to "pay for cleaning up the mess" created by toxic chemicals that spewed into the air, water and soil after the accident.

"We're here for the long-term," George said of the clean-up effort.

Norfolk Southern plans to quantify related costs no later than its first-quarter earnings. It has insurance to help offset those costs, including a liability policy that will cover up to $1.1 billion in certain situations, George said.

Former President Donald Trump will visit East Palestine on Wednesday as his 2024 Presidential campaign seeks to build support, and as residents fight for a more robust response from federal agencies.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to release a preliminary report on Thursday on its initial findings into the fiery crash.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will travel to the site on Thursday to meet with community members and attend a briefing on the accident investigation. He will be joined by representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Buttigieg is rallying bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for stiffer Department of Transportation (USDOT) penalties for rail safety regulation violations, to move up a deadline for safer cars to transport hazardous materials and to accelerate work on a final FRA rule requiring at least two crew members on trains.