Biden drew criticism last year for not immediately visiting the town in northeastern Ohio after a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed there Feb. 3, 2023, causing a massive fire and blanketing the area with a huge smoke cloud and chemical odor, prompting hundreds of residents to evacuate, and triggering widespread public health concerns.
On Wednesday, the White House official defended the Biden administration’s response to the disaster, noting that the Environmental Protection Agency had deployed emergency personnel to East Palestine within hours of the derailment. The Department of Transportation also arrived within hours to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, the official said.
The official also noted that the EPA had ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up all environmental damage caused by the derailment, including cleaning or disposing of contaminated soil and water, as well as reimbursing the federal government’s response costs. In September, Biden issued an executive order directing Norfolk Southern to continue to be held accountable for the derailment and address any long-term effects to the community, the official added.
Less than two weeks after the derailment, the EPA said the air in East Palestine was safe to breathe, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said he was “not seeing” the need for further federal assistance, though Biden had offered it. However, environmental advocates and residents questioned the response and remained apprehensive about the safety of the water and soil in the town in the aftermath of the disaster.
Biden said last March that he would visit East Palestine “at some point.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and EPA Administrator Michael Regan both visited the town in the weeks after the derailment — as did former president Donald Trump, who spoke at the site to criticize the Biden administration’s response.
Justine McDaniel contributed to this report.