WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will visit the eastern Ohio community that was devastated by a fiery train derailment in February 2023 that displaced thousands and left many fearing the potential effects on the health of toxic chemicals that spilled when a Norfolk Southern train. got off the beaten track.
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Biden will visit eastern Palestine in February at the invitation of Mayor Trent Conaway and other local officials, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. No date was given for the Democratic president’s trip, but it will likely follow the anniversary of the derailment on Saturday. Conaway did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The February 3, 2023 derailment forced thousands of people from their homes near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Area residents still fear the potential health effects of the toxic chemicals spilled in the crash and the vinyl chloride that was released days after the crash to prevent five tank cars from exploding.
The lack of a visit by Biden, who is campaigning for re-election in November, has become a subject of persistent questioning at the White House, as well as among residents of eastern Palestine. Some residents said they felt forgotten as time passed and they watched Biden fly to the scenes of other disasters, such as wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui and hurricanes in Florida.
East Palestine resident Joe Bethuy, a 36-year-old metalworker and Republican, said he was disappointed with the Biden administration’s handling of the derailment and the president’s delay in his visit, adding that all that he had to do “was just show up for a visit.” hour or something like that.
Bethuy and his friend Jeremy Smith, who moved to East Palestine after the derailment, spoke to an Associated Press reporter inside Sprinklz on Top, a downtown restaurant.
“I don’t really know what the point is,” Smith said of Biden’s visit. “It’s a little late by a year.”
Several weeks after the derailment, former President Donald Trump visited eastern Palestine and criticized the federal response under Biden as a “betrayal.” He also donated Trump-branded cleaning supplies and bottled water. Trump is currently the favorite for the Republican presidential nomination.
In a social media post Wednesday, Trump criticized Biden for planning to visit “a year late, and only to build some political credibility because EVERYTHING else he’s done has been a such a disaster.” I know these great people, I was there when it mattered, and his reception won’t be warm.
The Biden administration defended its response just after a toxic freight train derailed, even as local leaders and members of Congress demanded more be done. The White House said at the time that it had “mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio,” and noted that officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies were at the same time. rural site within hours, although Biden did not immediately visit the site.
Asked late last week about a possible Biden visit to Ohio, Jean-Pierre said he would visit “when it’s appropriate or helpful…to the community for him to be there.”
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s a rural area, an urban area, a suburban area, a red state or a blue state, the president has always been there to… help and be there for the community,” Jean-Pierre added. “So when it comes in handy, he definitely will.”
Although the administration defended its response, Biden did not declare a federal disaster in eastern Palestine, which remains a sticking point for residents. Such a declaration would unlock additional federal funds and aid that people could apply for to rebuild their lives.
But state and federal officials say no federal disaster declaration has been issued because it is designed to help cover unmet needs that no one pays for after a disaster. In this case, there isn’t as much unmet need in the eyes of the government because Norfolk Southern pays the bills and compensates residents for damage to their homes and businesses.
Biden ordered federal agencies to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment and appointed a Federal Emergency Management Agency official to oversee East Palestine’s recovery.
Norfolk Southern estimated it would cost the company more than $1.1 billion to eliminate all hazardous chemicals, help the community and deal with associated lawsuits and penalties. Insurance will likely cover much of that, but the total is expected to rise.
Reforms have been proposed in Congress, but the bill calls for federal standards for wayside detectors to detect mechanical problems, additional inspections by qualified workers and at least two people on each train crew. goods is at a standstill. The railroads have lobbied against several of the provisions they say are unrelated to that accident, and many Republicans have pushed to wait until the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report on the derailment is released later this year.
Associated Press writers Josh Funk in Omaha, Neb., and Patrick Orsagos in East Palestine, Ohio, contributed to this report.
