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Norfolk Southern apparently is nowhere close to completing the cleanup and legal consequences associated with the Feb. 3 fiery East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, just west of Ohio's border with Pennsylvania.
The derailment and all that has happened in its aftermath have spawned intense public interest, especially in railroad communities such as Altoona and Johnstown.
But the news in recent days that the derailment's cost had reached $803 million -- double initial estimates and with significantly bigger damage numbers believed yet to come -- was met with a sense of surprise and perhaps shock by many people, even some railroaders.
However, the fact that the ill-fated train was pulling a number of cars loaded with hazardous cargoes was indicative early-on that the first damage estimates probably would be far surpassed.
Indeed, because of the derailment's scope, its horrific impact on the East Palestine community and the fact that trains across this country still are -- and will be -- transporting hazardous cargoes, mandated full transparency regarding what occurred, regarding anyone or anything responsible for what occurred and regarding the full cost associated with the unfortunate incident.
Norfolk Southern, as well as federal investigators, have seemed fully committed on all of those fronts.
Still, it is understandable the cleanup and other responses to what occurred -- as well as what lingering negative effects there might be in connection with the derailment -- have tested the patience of East Palestine residents and other people living in close proximity.
As the Mirror indicated in a previous editorial, one can only imagine the terrible consequences if the East Palestine derailment had occurred in Downtown Altoona, for example.
Regarding East Palestine and its environs, residents there, some of whom had their lives turned virtually upside-down, have a right to expect continuing updates until the final damage numbers are "planted" in the derailment's official record.
But considering all that is happening in this country at present, it is appropriate for Americans to perhaps be curious about another cost -- one that has not been discussed openly by federal leaders even though more than two years have passed since most of that cost was incurred.
Actually, though, costs still are being incurred as a result of what took place.
That "what took place" was the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Every taxpayer needs to accept the fact that Americans' individual tax dollars were and are being directed toward repair bills and security necessitated by the Jan. 6 violence, and that whatever the total cost, that money could have been better spent if that violence had not occurred.
Norfolk Southern has said most of the derailment costs in question are related to the cleanup of the hazardous chemicals that were released, but that $222 million of the total cost so far is a combination of legal fees and the
$63 million of assistance offered to East Palestine.
As the Associated Press reported in an article published in the July 28 Mirror, the $803 million cost estimate does not include funds to compensate East Palestine for any long-term health effects, drinking water issues or drop in home values, because those issues still are being negotiated.
Regarding Feb. 3, 2023, comprehensive transparency continues to reign. Regarding the Jan. 6 costs, "darkness" continues to dominate.