Just before 9 p.m. ET on February 3, a 150-car, 9,000 foot long, Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a quarter mile west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line. Twenty of the affected cars contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and isobutylene. Some cars caught fire, others spilled their loads into an adjacent ditch that feeds Sulphur Run, a stream that joins Leslie Run, which eventually empties into the Ohio River.
Since the derailment, the Federal government mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine and other affected communities. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Health and Human Services Administration, and other federal and local agencies have worked to restore the derailment site, sample and remove contaminated material from the derailment site, conduct air monitoring, carry out public health initiatives, and hold investigative hearings.
To reinforce these efforts, on September, 20, President Biden issued an Executive Order to “Protect People in East Palestine, Ohio and Nearby Communities, and Continue to Hold Norfolk Southern Accountable.” The goal of the order is to establish supervision of long-term recovery efforts and ensure that Norfolk Southern will continue to meet its obligations to the community.
Biden’s order directs the following federal agency actions:
FEMA
- FEMA will designate a federal disaster recovery coordinator to oversee long-term recovery efforts in the affected communities. The coordinator will conduct a comprehensive assessment of any unmet needs that are not addressed by Norfolk Southern and would qualify for Federal assistance. The coordinator will also collaborate with the federal, state and local governments, the private sector and voluntary, faith-based and community organizations supporting the recovery.
- The State of Ohio’s request for a major disaster declaration pursuant to the Stafford Act will be held open. If the FEMA administrator receives new information from the state, including needs that are not being addressed by Norfolk Southern, she will immediately submit a recommendation on whether a major disaster declaration is warranted.
EPA
- EPA will continue to direct removal of contaminated soils and wastewater from the derailment site, in compliance with state and federal law. In addition, EPA will ensure that any remaining contamination in surface stream sediments is addressed, and that air and water monitoring continue.
- Within 30 days, EPA will provide a report to the president on the status of air, soil, and water monitoring and whether Norfolk Southern continues to comply with the Federal Unilateral Administrative Order to address the imminent and substantial endangerment caused by the company’s derailment. Moving forward, EPA will provide the president with an updated report every 60 days until all cleanup, assessment, and monitoring work required by EPA’s order has been completed.
HHS
- Within 60 days, HHS will provide the president with a report summarizing key conclusions from the public health testing and assessment that has been conducted to date, and the resources HHS and the CDC have provided to address any health conditions related to the derailment.
- In coordination with the affected states, Ohio and Pennsylvania, HHS will continue to monitor the public health consequences of the derailment, including to determine whether any acute medical conditions develop. If such medical conditions develop, HHS and EPA will each evaluate whether a public health emergency should be declared.
- HHS will provide technical assistance to the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania in the event that either state considers submitting a proposal for services through the Medicaid program for individuals affected by the derailment.
DOT
- Within 60 days, DOT will provide the president with a report detailing the actions the department is taking in response to the East Palestine train derailment. This report will be updated within 120 days of the final NTSB investigation, and DOT will provide the president a preliminary set of follow-on actions to ensure accountability.
Pursuant to Biden’s order, FEMA designated Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Jim McPherson to conduct a comprehensive assessment of any unmet needs that are not addressed by Norfolk Southern and would qualify for Federal assistance. McPherson will also collaborate with federal, state and local governments, the private sector and voluntary, faith-based and community organizations supporting the recovery.
The executive order is also intended make certain that Norfolk Southern is “fully accountable under the law for [the derailment] and any of its long-term effects” and to “provide additional federal assistance that the affected states, the people of East Palestine, and all those affected in surrounding communities may need.” Further action will surely be taken in response to the ongoing investigations and reports mandated by the Biden order.