White House blames Trump administration and Republicans over East Palestine, Ohio spill

White House blames Trump administration and Republicans over East Palestine, Ohio spill

Show Caption Hide Caption EPA amps up Ohio train derailment cleanup for Norfolk Southern The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct all necessary actions associated with cleaning up the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Scott L. Hall, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The White House is firing back at Republicans following the toxic East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, blaming the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for undoing Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avert such disasters.

The aggressive rebuttal came as former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday and Republicans increasingly attack the Biden administration, especially Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for its response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that unleased toxic chemicals.

“Congressional Republicans and former Trump Administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to USA TODAY.

More: Just how dangerous is the Ohio derailment disaster? Why it's confusing.

Among safety rollbacks cited by the White House, the Trump administration withdrew a 2015 proposal to require advanced braking systems on trains carrying highly flammable materials, ended regular safety audits of railroads and scrapped a proposal to require at least two crew members on freight trains.

Jennifer Homendy, who chairs the National Transportation Safety Board, said the brake rule would not have prevented the East Palestine derailment because it was proposed for "high-hazard flammable" trains carrying 20 or more loaded tank cars. The train that derailed did not meet that threshold.

The White House also resurfaced a 2021 letter to the Federal Railroad Administration signed by 20 Republican senators in support of waivers backed by the rail lobby to allow automated inspections of track safety instead of human inspections.

More: A look at some of the transportation safety rules sidelined under President Trump

On the environmental front, House Republicans last year proposed substantial cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, including the elimination of its Surface Water Protection Program.

Republicans have accused President Joe Biden of ignoring East Palestine, which Trump carried by 40 percentage points in the 2020 election, decrying how the president visited Ukraine and Poland this week instead of Ohio. Their attacks come as Democratic support among working-class voters in Rust Belt states like Ohio has been on the decline for over a decade.

Trains are becoming less safe: Why the Ohio derailment disaster could happen more often

Bates said congressional Republicans “laid the groundwork” for the Trump administration to "tear up requirements" for more effective train breaks and accused House Republicans of wanting to “defund our ability to protect drinking water.”

“There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA.”

More: Trains are becoming less safe. Why the Ohio derailment disaster could happen more often

Buttigieg plans to visit East Palestine on Thursday

Nearly three weeks since the incident near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, East Palestine residents are still reeling with uncertainty as state and federal officials pledge to address their health concerns.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate the derailment, residents of East Palestine have complained about headaches and skin rashes and raised environmental fears and potential long-term effects.

Federal agencies maintain that the air and water are safe despite the release of vinyl chloride that was meant to prevent a major explosion from the train's wreckage. According to health experts, the toxic spill and explosions and fire that followed warrant careful monitoring of environmental contamination and exposure to the people who live there. But the chemicals involved, which largely evaporate or break down within days, mean acute problems are unlikely.

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Buttigieg plans to visit East Palestine on Thursday, making his first trip there since the derailment, to meet with community members and receive an update on the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The board's initial findings are expected Thursday.

The visit coincides with the EPA moving out of the "emergency response phase" and transitioning to a long-term remediation phase.

Biden, while visiting Poland, said Wednesday he called federal and state officials, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, about ongoing response efforts in East Palestine. "I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need," Biden said in a tweet.

Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @Joeygarrison.