COLUMBIANA CO. Debris remains on land

The railway is a business, but it must also be a good neighbor, the director said.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Although Columbiana County Port Authority owns the Central Columbiana Pennsylvania Railway, port officials can't prevent the railway from operating unless there is a breach of contract, port authority executive Director Tracy Drake said.
Drake said the port authority has spent about $3 million improving the railway from Youngstown to the Pennsylvania border, installing new ties, rocks and tie rods and removing old railroad ties.
He said he and port authority board members are disappointed that debris spilled March 8 when three railway cars derailed near the intersection of Lusk Lock, Low and Bell roads hasn't been cleaned up.
"We can't tell them they can't operate until they clean up the derailment," Drake said. "Interstate commerce rules apply to railroads, and as long as there is someone who wants the debris hauled, the trains have to keep running.
"We have to look at priorities, and although the priority is to run a railway business, being a good neighbor must also be a priority," Drake said.
When the railway cars derailed, one spilled its contents down an embankment and into a pasture owned by Jim and Lisa Cibula, knocking down a fence.
Here are concerns
The Cibulas keep several horses in the pasture and have to keep a close eye on them to keep them away from the debris and the downed fence. They said to fix the fence themselves, they'd have to handle the debris.
Central Columbiana and Pennsylvania Railway hauls rail cars filled with construction and demolition debris from New York and Massachusetts along the tracks near the Cibula's home to a landfill in nearby Negley.
The railroad crossing is near Signal in Elkrun Township where Lusk Lock, Low and Bell roads converge.
The Cibulas are also concerned that the debris may be getting into the creek that empties into Beaver Creek.
Lisa Cibula said workers spent about six hours soon after the derailment cleaning up the debris. Then they left and haven't returned.
Explanation
Drake said a breach of contract by the railroad would be if officials were making no attempt to finish the cleanup, but that is not the case. He is in contact with railroad officials daily about the status of the cleanup efforts.
Railway officials have not returned phone calls from The Vindicator.
Drake said railway officials have said the cleanup is being done by a subcontractor, and after workers removed about two-thirds of the debris and two of the three derailed cars, the heavy equipment began sinking into the soft ground.
Drake said railway officials are waiting for workers to return with lighter equipment to be used on the steep embankment, but those workers were called to work for another railroad.