The Buffalo, N.Y., man who operated the Norfolk Southern train
that derailed near Gardeau last June – causing extreme
environmental damage and nearly $1 million in damage to the train
itself – was arraigned Monday in Smethport and remanded to McKean
County Jail.

According to court records at District Judge Bill Todd’s office,
Michael Seifert, 45, of 188 Croften Drive, was arraigned at 11 a.m.
on two counts of risking a catastrophe, second-degree felonies; and
one of recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree
misdemeanor.

Seifert was remanded to jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. A
preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 16 in front of
Todd.

A spokesperson at Todd’s office said Seifert came in Monday on
his own accord, and was not arrested on a warrant that had been
issued on Friday. He was represented by an attorney, Paul Malizia
of Emporium, at the time of arraignment.

A police criminal complaint filed Friday against Seifert alleges
that he was under the influence of benzodiazepines and opiates
while he was operating the train in Norwich Township near Gardeau
on June 30.

There was no explanation given as to whether the drugs were
prescription or illicit, or the alleged amount of drugs Seifert had
consumed.

“As a direct result of both his reckless action and inaction,”
the train derailed, causing destruction of and damage to several
rail cars and area vegetation, and also released debris and sodium
hydroxide into the area and the stream, the complaint reads.

Seifert’s alleged drug intoxication, coupled with his alleged
failure to control the speed of the train resulted in “a major
environmental disaster, (which) risked the life of local residents
and endangered first responding emergency personnel and Norfolk
Southern personnel,” the records read.

“As the train crested the Keating Summit and traveled south on
the Buffalo line at a 2.6 percent downhill grade, the train reached
a speed of 77 mph at (7:27 a.m.),” the complaint reads. The speed
restriction in this area is 15 mph.

As a result, 31 cars derailed – four containing sodium hydroxide
solution, or caustic lye, and one containing chlorine. About 42,000
gallons of sodium hydroxide spilled into the ground and surrounding
aquatic area, the complaint reads.

The chlorine tank did not rupture, but 20 to 40 residents were
evacuated as a precaution.

The cleanup of the site remains ongoing.

According to an accident report from the Federal Railroad
Administration, the train had three locomotives and weighed 5,519
tons as it was traveling south on the Buffalo line when the rail
cars 14 through 44 derailed. There was $934,000 in equipment damage
caused by the derailment, along with $80,000 in track damage.

As of Monday, there was no information available as to the
outcome of any other possible investigations into the derailment.
So far, District Attorney John Pavlock has only confirmed an
investigation by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. A
spokesman for the commission referred questions to Pavlock on
Monday.

“There is a civil aspect of the Fish and Boat Commission
investigation as well the criminal aspect,” Pavlock said. “We’ve
received a substantial amount of information and we are reviewing
and we are hoping we can come to a conclusion (of the
investigation) soon.”

He added he would hope the investigation would “conclude within
the next month or two.”

There was one additional person on the train at the time of the
derailment, a conductor whose name has yet to be released. Pavlock
would not comment on whether or not charges are being considered
against the conductor, or whether any additional charges may come
out of the derailment.