Last week, 36 Norfolk Southern train cars derailed, spilling thousands of tons of sand-like coal into a section of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
It was just two years ago that the refuge was celebrating final installations of water control devices to help the swamp peat soil recover from centuries of logging, flooding and intense wildfires.
Wendi Weber, who directs this region for Fish and Wildlife, said they are working with the state and Norfolk Southern to clean it up and to monitor for damage. "It's very delicate and sensitive habitat, so we're trying to do it with the least impact. That peat, we don't want it to get compacted or else the coal will settle out there."
Chris Lowie is the refuge manager. He says the coal affected about an acre of land and that about half-an-acre including trees had to be bulldozed to get the rail cars out. So far, only aquatic organisms like frogs and turtles living in the ditch along the rail line will be impacted.
But the peat soil is a big concern. "You can't just dig down with an excavator and dig it all out, whatever coal is in the soil, and bring in a dump-truck and fill it back in with dirt and restore it," according to Lowie. "So, they're going to try to scrape that coal that's on the upper layer of the soil and get all that out."
Over the weekend a small amount, about 15 dump-truck loads, of the coal were removed. To reduce impact on the refuge, the remainder will be taken out by train now that the tracks have been restored. "The impacts will be minimal," Lowie predicts. "It's just how long it stays in the system and do they get it cleaned up to a level that won't have any negative affect."
Cleanup could take two to four weeks. Lowie is keeping an eye on the weather as rain could have a negative impact.
No formal investigation of the accident has been initiated. Norfolk Southern will be required to submit a report including what caused the derailment to the Federal Railroad Administration.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
