Legislators on both sides of the aisle have widely criticized the Biden administration for its response to Norfolk Southern’s toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3.
Partisan divide about the topic was evident on March 9 at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to explore the crash that occurred in the eastern Ohio village located one mile from the Pennsylvania border.
The hearing was led by chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).
Carper praised the White House, EPA, and the agency administrator Michael Regan in his opening remarks.
“It’s worth noting that the Biden administration has been on the ground from day one,” he said.
“As we will hear today, the EPA, working alongside state and local partners, arrived in East Palestine within hours after the derailment and has maintained a presence ever since.
“In fact, Administrator [Michael] Regan has visited the area three times already and expects to go back for more.
Lack of Transparency
Capito chastised the EPA for what she called a lack of transparency that created confusion and fear for East Palestine residents.“The public deserved a better level of transparency and much, much sooner,” Capito said.
“A month after the accident it is clear to me that the EPA’s risk communication strategy fell short in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Impacted communities were clamoring for answers,” she said.
People in East Palestine were not properly informed about what actions the federal government would take to protect them in the derailment’s aftermath, Capito added.
“Why did it take weeks for the EPA administrator to drink the water he repeatedly told residents was safe?” she questioned. “Why did it take almost a month to establish a response center and go door to door to East Palestine families concerned?”
For weeks, critics have asked why Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg did not publicly comment about the derailment until 10 days after it happened, and why he traveled to the village for the first time on Feb. 22 after former President Donald Trump announced a few days before that he would visit East Palestine on Feb. 23.
Biden said that he would go to East Palestine “at some point,” but the White House has reiterated that there are no scheduled plans for the president to be in the village in the foreseeable future.
“We don’t have a plan for the president to go at this time,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week. “We don’t have anything to preview to all of you at this time.
“I believe you heard from the president just yesterday who said that he is planning to go there at some point,” Jean-Pierre added. “When that happens, we’re going to coordinate with state and local officials to make that trip occur.”
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) provided testimony early in the hearing.
They introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 last week with co-sponsors from both parties.
The proposed legislation would increase fines for safety violations, establish nationwide requirements for devices “designed to automatically detect wheel bearing and other mechanical issues,” and mandate railroads to develop disaster plans and inform emergency response commissions of any hazardous materials traveling through their states among other guidelines.
“It shouldn’t take a train derailment for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve—not corporations like Norfolk Southern,” Brown said.
‘They’re A Little Too Rural’
Vance had pointed remarks about the initial response to the disaster.“I think that our leadership, our media, and our politicians were slow to respond to this crisis, in part because a certain segment of our leadership feels like the people of East Palestine are a little out of style. They have the wrong politics,” Vance said.
“They’re a little too rural, maybe a little too white.”
Vance added that “the most important message to the people of East Palestine is that we will not forget about them in the weeks and months to come and I think this committee hearing reinforces that message.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern if he has benefitted from visiting East Palestine. Shaw said that he had.
Graham asked Shaw if he would be willing to go to East Palestine with Biden if the president “chose to go there.”
Shaw responded that he wanted to stay out of “politics” but added that he would accompany Biden to East Palestine if the president asked.
“I'll go with anybody who wants to go and help the community,” Shaw said.
Graham then called on Biden to visit East Palestine.
“What’s the downside of talking to people about going through a big trauma?” Graham said. “Him going there doesn’t fix all the problems, but I think it’s a step in the right direction. And I just wish he would go there.”
Graham also asked witnesses if they believed that residents are safe living in the village.
‘I Drink the Water’
U.S. EPA Regional Director Debra Shore told Graham that “science is the EPA’s north star” and that scientific data indicates the air and water are safe in East Palestine.“I drink the water there,” Shore said. “I drink it every time I go to town because the scientific data shows that it’s safe. As does the air.”
Shore explained that the EPA has “not detected any volatile organic compounds above levels of health concerns” since the derail fire was extinguished on Feb. 8 and that the EPA is currently conducting around-the-clock air monitoring.
Through a voluntary program established by the EPA, around 600 homes have been screened for toxic chemicals that include vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride. None of those chemicals have been identified, Shore said.
“While EPA is encouraged by the data, we also recognize that the people of East Palestine still question the health and safety of their community and their loved ones,” she said.
“Every time a train whistle blows they’re reminded of the trauma inflicted upon them by Norfolk Southern.”
If Norfolk Southern does not complete EPA-ordered actions, the agency will “immediately step in to conduct the necessary work and then force Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost,” Shore explained.
