COUNTYWIDE : Railroad Reviewing Seacliff Spill Bill

An attorney for Southern Pacific Transportation Co. said Monday that the railroad was still reviewing the $717,000 bill presented to it by Ventura County and other government agencies stemming from July’s derailment and toxic spill at Seacliff.

“It’s still under consideration,” said William Pohle, a senior Southern Pacific attorney in Los Angeles. “We’re having our lawyers review the legal basis for the payment for that bill.”

Pohle said he could give no precise timetable for the review. “We would obviously seek to resolve this as expeditiously as possible,” he said.

The claims package was forwarded to Southern Pacific earlier this month. Ventura County claims totaled $572,104.47.

Included were invoices from the county Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department, Environmental Health and other agencies.

Claims from other governmental jurisdictions--including the city of Ventura and Los Angeles and Kern counties--totaled another $144,636.76.

Meanwhile, Michael Furtney, a Southern Pacific spokesman in San Francisco, said 27 individual and business claims have been settled with residents of the Seaside and La Conchita areas.

He said the settlements ranged from about $500 to a few thousand dollars each.

Thus far, Furtney added, 274 individual and business claims sparked by the accident have been denied.

“We have denied all but the claims of those in the immediate Seacliff and La Conchita areas,” he said.