The nation’s top environmental official promised to support East Palestine, Ohio, throughout the cleanup of a toxic train derailment there that fueled anxiety about potential health effects and said the train’s operator must pay to clean “the mess that they created.”
The nation’s top environmental official promised to support East Palestine, Ohio, throughout the cleanup of a toxic train derailment there that fueled anxiety about potential health effects and said the train’s operator must pay to clean “the mess that they created.”
The US Environmental Protection Agency ordered the operator, Norfolk Southern, to handle and pay for all necessary cleanup in a legally binding order that will take effect Thursday.
“In no way, shape or form, will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess that they created,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said, vowing to use the agency’s “full enforcement authority.”
President Joe Biden echoed the sentiment Tuesday, calling the EPA’s order “common sense.” “This is their mess. They should clean it up,” the president said of Norfolk Southern in an Instagram post.
Norfolk Southern will be required to Identify and clean up any contaminated soil and water resources, reimburse the EPA for cleaning services to be offered to residents and businesses, attend and participate in public meetings at the EPA’s request and post information online, among other requirements.
“I know this order cannot undo the nightmare that families in this town have been living with. But it will begin to deliver much needed justice for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused,” Regan said.
As part of the continued fallout, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said state environmental officials made a “criminal referral” against Norfolk Southern. The Ohio attorney general is also reviewing all actions the law “allows him to take,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.
The backlash comes as residents of the small village grapple with fears about the safety of their air and water in the aftermath of the February 3 derailment, which ignited a fire that burned for days and prompted crews to intentionally release vinyl chloride from the train cars to help avert an explosion – a move that sent a thick plume of smoke over the small community.
Skepticism further spread in the community as some residents have reported health problems, like rashes and headaches, and after thousands of fish died in Ohio waterways after the train derailed.
Air and water quality testing has so far found no dangers to residents of the small village near the Pennsylvania border after the February 3 derailment, and Regan said he has “absolute confidence” in the agency’s data.
