Lawmakers urge Biden to declare Ohio derailment a major disaster
- State legislators call on Biden administration to declare a major disaster
- DeWine requested a Presidential Declaration of Major Disaster in July
- Legislators: “This community feels overlooked” amid ongoing impacts
FILE – This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the night before in East Palestine, Ohio, still on fire at mid-day, Feb. 4, 2023. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, President Joe Biden ordered federal agencies to continue holding Norfolk Southern accountable for its February derailment in eastern Ohio and appoint a FEMA official to oversee East Palestine’s recovery, but he still stopped short of declaring a disaster. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
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(NewsNation) — Over 30 members of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators representing 22 states are requesting the Biden administration approve a major disaster declaration for East Palestine, Ohio, which is still experiencing ongoing challenges nearly eight months after the train derailment.
“This community feels overlooked and left behind as they continue to deal with these impacts and the consequences of misguided early decisions in the cleanup effort,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to President Biden. “We are concerned that so many highly toxic and carcinogenic chemicals were released into the soil, water, and air, and recognize the need for concerted efforts to remove all immediate and persistent risks to people and the environment.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine submitted a request for a Presidential Declaration of Major Disaster on July 3. It would have provided additional federal aid to address the challenges faced by East Palestine residents and the natural environment.
The lawmakers are urging the approval of that request.
Since the Feb. 3 derailment, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and other members of the Ohio congressional delegation have made it a top priority to support the people of East Palestine, advance the cleanup effort and tackle the alleged railway safety neglect.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has ensured the provision of water testing from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection supported the fire crews who had their equipment damaged in the immediate aftermath, and worked to hold the railway accountable.
At the the derailment, Pittsburgh-based Big Pine Consultants concluded, based on results from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the exact chemicals may be butyl acrylate or ethylhexyl. Both compounds were reported to be in some of the rail cars and can cause skin irritation, eye irritation and respiratory irritation, according to the National Institutes of Health.
However, independent testing by Tsai shows traces of isopropyl benzene and methylcyclohexane.
Earlier this month, the Ohio EPA said, “It is unlikely” that a recent fish kill “is related to the train derailment or cleanup activities,” and that “The latest testing results in Leslie Run show no contamination downstream from the train derailment site.”
Many of the town’s residents continue to be disappointed by the federal government’s response to the disaster.