Railroad Agrees to Pay $737,000 for Spill Cleanup

After eight months of bickering, Southern Pacific Transportation Co. has agreed to pay $737,000 to Ventura County and other government agencies for the cleanup last summer of the Seacliff train derailment and toxic spill, officials said Wednesday.

The railroad company notified county officials Tuesday that it will pay for emergency services provided by the county Fire Department and other agencies in the July 28 accident, said Assistant County Counsel Robert R. Orellana. The county should receive payment next week, Orellana said.

George Link, an attorney for Southern Pacific, said the company always intended to provide reimbursement. However, he said Southern Pacific needed time to research expenses submitted by the agencies to ensure that the company was indeed liable for them.

But Orellana and other county officials said “bad press and political pressure” are what prompted Southern Pacific to finally agree to settle.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors sent its third letter to the railroad company, demanding payment for the massive cleanup operation and also sought the help of Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria). Board members said the county, which has been forced to cut back services because of budget constraints, had waited long enough for its money.

“That’s great,” Supervisor John K. Flynn said Wednesday of the reimbursement agreement. “That’s a lot of money. It will help us out a lot.”

Supervisor Maria VanderKolk agreed.

“I’m very pleased,” she said. “We were very concerned that we would be required to pay (for the cleanup) with taxpayer dollars.”

Both credited O’Connell for pressuring Southern Pacific into a settlement.

O’Connell said he met with officials of the railroad company last week and again this week to discuss reimbursement.

“I’m disappointed that they took so long,” he said. “But I’m pleased that Southern Pacific finally stepped up to the plate and recognized their responsibility and obligation to pay. It’s not fair to the taxpayers of Ventura County to be out one red cent.”

The train wreck at Seacliff caused the spill of 440 gallons of hydrazine solution, a component of rocket fuel, which forced the evacuation of dozens of residents and shut down a 10-mile stretch of the Ventura Freeway for five days. Hundreds of county firefighters and other emergency service personnel from neighboring communities assisted in the cleanup.

Investigators said the derailment occurred when a bearing in an axle assembly overheated, causing the axle to break apart.

The bulk of the reimbursement--$435,167--will go to the county Fire Department, according to county officials. About $200,000 will be split among the Ventura and Oxnard fire departments, the Sheriff’s Department and the county health department. The remainder of the money will pay for services provided by Los Angeles, Kern and Santa Barbara county fire departments and other agencies.

Meanwhile, O’Connell has introduced a bill in the Assembly calling for stricter rail safety regulations.

One of the provisions would require railroad companies to set up a 24-hour hot line that would provide firefighters and other emergency personnel with immediate access to information about hazardous materials being transported by rail.