White House orders Norfolk Southern to clean up chemical spill in Ohio

The head of the federal environment agency said on Tuesday rail operator Norfolk Southern had to “pay to clean up the mess” left in Ohio after a freight train derailed, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment.
The statement by the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was backed by President Joe Biden, who tweeted on Tuesday that the company is obligated to eliminate the consequences of the incident that occurred through its fault.
The EPA also ordered representatives from Norfolk Southern to attend community meetings in connection with the chemical spill in the East Palestine, Ohio area. Last week, company representatives ignored the meeting, citing concerns for their personal safety, which angered townspeople.
An EPA order requires Norfolk Southern to submit a derailment cleanup plan for agency approval. As a result of the accident, a fire broke out, due to which clouds of smoke rose above the city. Thousands of residents were evacuated as railway workers dumped and burned the toxic chemicals.
“Let me be very clear: Norfolk Southern will pay to clean up the mess they’ve created and the trauma they’ve caused this community,” EPA Administrator Michael Reagan said during a briefing. a press conference in eastern Palestine.
Biden also tweeted that rail carriers were pressuring Washington for action against industry regulation, calling on Congress to pass a rail safety bill.
Norfolk Southern has acknowledged its responsibility to clean up the crash site “thoroughly and safely” and to pay all associated costs. “We will learn from this horrific accident and work with regulators and elected officials to improve rail safety,” the statement said.
The company said last week it had set up a $1 million relief fund for the affected community, and on Tuesday it said it had provided $3.4 million in direct financial assistance to more than 2,200 families to cover evacuation costs.
The crash happened on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro slammed Norfolk Southern for “corporate greed and incompetence” from the company responsible for the incident.
“They created confusion in the process,” Shapiro said. “They provided us with inaccurate information and conflicting simulation data, and refused to explore or formulate alternative courses of action when we were faced with the accident in the early days.”
Shapiro was referring to the decision to drain toxic chemicals from the railcars after the crash and set them on fire, which released a cloud of toxic smoke.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued an order under federal law that gives the agency the power to force parties responsible for the pollution to clean it up.
Although no deaths or injuries have been reported, residents are demanding answers about the health risks and blaming a lack of information from representatives of Norfolk Southern and state and federal authorities.
The agency will also establish a unified command structure to coordinate cleanup efforts with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio State Emergency Management Agency, and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and also by Norfolk Southern.