Josh Funk | Associated Press

Provisions of the deal will allow personal injury payments to be made even while an appeal challenging whether the settlement is adequate and fair moves forward.

Settlement checks related to Norfolk Southern’s disastrous 2023 derailment could be delayed up to two years now because of the appeal, leaving some residents frustrated.

A new Associated Press analysis of data from the agency — along with results from Norfolk Southern’s contractors who are carrying out the cleanup and independent testers in East Palestine — raises questions about whether the EPA is disclosing everything it knows.

A federal judge has approved a $600 million class-action settlement involving last year's disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Shaw was leading Norfolk Southern in February 2023 when one of its trains derailed, spilled toxic chemicals and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio, the worst railroad disaster in the last decade.

Very few people who live near East Palestine, Ohio opted out of a $600 million class action settlement despite reservations about whether the deal offers enough.

A spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based railroad declined to offer any additional details Monday about the nature of the allegations against Alan Shaw, who has been CEO since May 2022.

The judge ruled that East Palestine residents deserve timely compensation for the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, according to court filings.

One of the key complaints is that the plaintiffs’ attorneys haven’t disclosed any of the results of testing done around town by their own expert to determine the extent of the contamination caused when toxic chemicals spilled and burned after the derailment.

The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup. The illnesses are described in a report obtained by The Associated Press from one of the environmental contractors.