State regulators issued a pollution law violation notice to Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), the rail company whose six train cars derailed in Somerset County two weeks ago.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the Maine Forest Service (MFS) and Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) found that the company’s use of heavy equipment to access the derailment site caused a significant amount of sediment discharge into several streams. The MFS and the LUPC issued a notice to the rail company citing CPKC for violating Maine’s Pollution Control law after its insufficient cleanup efforts were found to have degraded the water quality of the surrounding area.
The Maine Department of Environment Protection Commissioner, Melanie Loyzim also sent a letter to CPKC stating that they have failed to stabilize roads and stream crossings during cleanup, despite requests made by the state to do so. Loyzim made another request in the letter to stabilize any points at the site that may cause more sediment discharge to prevent further violation of the Pollution Control Law.
