Sens. Sherrod Brown, J.D. Vance push bill to boost rail safety after Ohio train derailment
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During an Ohio Senate hearing on the train derailment, Ohio Senator Michael Rulli gets angry as he describes how his constituents feel around East Palestine.
Ohio lawmakers began to dissect the train derailment in East Palestine on Wednesday, hoping to find ways to prevent such catastrophes in the future.
A Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks in East Palestine on Feb. 3 after a wheel bearing overheated, spilling toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil, according to preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board. Residents evacuated their homes as the company executed a controlled release of vinyl chloride to prevent an explosion.
Now, people are back home and worried about long-term health consequences, even as officials say the air and municipal water are safe.
Ohio train derailment:’It’s all a bunch of whodunit’: East Palestine residents caught in political fight
Senators questioned officials with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency about efforts to clean up the village and test air, water and soil for toxic chemicals that were on the train. State and federal agencies are conducting weekly tests on the municipal water system and continue to clean up creeks in East Palestine that were heavily contaminated.
They’ve also excavated dirty soil near the derailment and moved it off site. Ohio EPA director Anne Vogel said the next step is for Norfolk Southern to take up the tracks and get rid of contaminated soil underneath.
“This is not an easy fix, and Americans love easy fixes,” state Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, said. “That is not going to happen here. We need years of monitoring the soil and testing. We need to build a foundation for the beautiful city of East Palestine, and we need to make ourselves whole again.”
The committee also heard from the Ohio Department of Public Safety about the emergency response to the derailment.
Railroads are largely regulated by federal law, so the state is limited in what it can accomplish. But Senate President Matt Huffman previously said the committee could look at issues such as tort law, which deals with civil suits and the relief someone can seek for being wronged.
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Huffman also said lawmakers may add one-time money to the upcoming state budget to help people in and around East Palestine.
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, J.D. Vance introduce rail safety bill
On the federal side, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday that aims to prevent train derailments and address issues that have cropped up in the NTSB’s investigation.
The proposal also came after Gov. Mike DeWine asked Congress to examine how trains are classified when they transport dangerous chemicals through states. The Norfolk Southern train was not considered a high-hazard flammable train, meaning the company did not need to notify state regulators about its passage.
“We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind,” Vance said in a statement.
What would the bill, aimed to prevent train derailments, do?
The federal bill would:
Require trains carrying hazardous materials to give advance notice to states, even if they aren’t high-hazardous flammable trains.
Require trains with these materials on board to be scanned by hot bearing detectors every 10 miles.
Update inspection rules and ensure they’re conducted by qualified rail car inspectors.
Require two-person crews.
Increase the maximum fine for railroads that break the rules to 1% of their annual operating income, instead of $225,000.
Increases HAZMAT registration fees paid by railroads to fund grants for emergency response training.
A train rolls past the site of the East Palestine train derailment as cleanup continues on Feb. 25.
Separately, Brown said he’s talked to the White House about how to support East Palestine residents if Norfolk Southern doesn’t make good on its promises. The Washington Post reported that White House officials are weighing what, if any, economic aid they could provide to the community.
“I want Norfolk Southern to pay quickly, but if they don’t, we’ve got to find another way to help them,” Brown told reporters Wednesday.
In the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, and other members of the Ohio delegation introduced legislation that would ensure residents and businesses don’t have to pay taxes on any disaster relief payments they receive.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Senate holds train derailment hearing on East Palestine disaster