WASHINGTON, D.C. – Since the hazardous Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine on February 3, 2023, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has fought to make the community whole, hold the big railroad companies accountable, and prevent another tragic derailment. Brown today held a news conference call to discuss his continued fight for rail safety and East Palestine.
“Over the last year, I’ve visited East Palestine repeatedly, and our staff is there even more often. Each time, we ask residents what we can do. They want the support and the compensation they are owed, but they do not want this derailment to define them. I don’t want that either, and I don’t want any other community in Ohio or around the country to have to deal with a disaster like this ever again,” said Brown. “As I’ve told the people of East Palestine — and as I keep telling them: I’m here for the long haul. I will always fight for the people of East Palestine. I will always fight to hold Norfolk Southern accountable. And I will always fight to make our railways safer.”
BROWN IS FIGHTING FOR EAST PALESTINE AND RAILY SAFETY
FIGHTING FOR THE PEOPLE OF EAST PALESTINE:
- In the days following the derailment, Brown successfully pushed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Transportation Safety Board to send resources and support to East Palestine and bolster the state’s clean-up efforts.
- Brown ensured the Centers for Disease Control would support a free health clinic for initial health screening, and has visited both the temporary clinic set up in response to the derailment and the permanent clinic after that to meet with local health care providers and hear firsthand what they are seeing from patients in the community.
- Brown also successfully urged EPA to expand testing to include dioxins, and called on the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health to conduct long-term health monitoring and further research on the short and long-term health effects of the derailment in East Palestine.
- Throughout the recovery efforts, Brown has urged the administration to address the concerns of farmers and agricultural producers in and around the derailment site. In response the EPA expanded their assessment activities to include farmland.
- This fall, Brown announced a new initiative to provide small businesses in East Palestine and Columbiana County access to capital and investment and helped secure an investment to purchase specialized equipment to assist in emergency response, hazard identification, and increase the response capacity of the local police and fire departments.
- Brown also delivered an emergency grant to support community health and resilience, and introduced the Assistance for Local Heroes During Train Crises Act to support first responders on the front lines of hazardous train derailments.
- Brown knows that more needs to be done. That’s why he is fighting to pass the bipartisan tax cut deal, which includes a provision that would ensure East Palestine residents won’t get hit with a surprise tax bill for payments they received from Norfolk Southern. Brown also called on EPA to: ensure individuals affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment have access to baseline medical testing, provide indoor air testing for their residences and businesses and decontamination services if necessary, and study whether a public health crisis is constituted.
TAKING ON NORFOLK SOUTHERN:
- Brown has fought to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the damage they’ve done and the harm they’ve caused to the community. He demanded the company share plans to actively support the community and clean-up efforts. Following his calls for accountability, EPA announced Norfolk Southern will be forced to pay for all costs associated with cleaning up the toxic chemical spill in East Palestine.
- Senator Brown has been aggressive in calling out Norfolk Southern’s record of putting profits over safety. During a Senate hearing on the derailment, Brown demanded Norfolk Southern pay more attention to safety and less to their profits. He also met with Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw and demanded he keep his promises to the residents of East Palestine. This fall, Brown laid out a comprehensive list of six actions Norfolk Southern must take to repair the damage its negligence has caused to the people of East Palestine, and to uphold all of the many promises the company has made to the East Palestine community. The list includes releasing all residents from any waivers of their legal rights, and immediately entering the Confidential Close Call Reporting System, which Norfolk Southern finally agreed to join this week.
- Brown is working to hold Norfolk Southern accountable in other Ohio communities as well. In Steubenville, he joined local officials and union workers. In November 2022, a Norfolk Southern train carrying trash derailed in Costonia, about seven miles north of Steubenville. Last March, he visited Springfield in the wake of a recent Norfolk Southern derailment in the area. When local officials told Brown Norfolk Southern failed to make payments for the damages and repairs, he called out the company and demanded they take responsibility. Following his demands, Norfolk Southern finally reimbursed the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for costs incurred from the March derailment.
- Brown also successfully pushed Norfolk Southern to repair the damage the railroad caused to the City of Sandusky and pay for costs incurred by the city following the train derailment there in October 2022.
- After hearing concerns from Ohioans and local officials about dilapidated rail bridges like the historic Lake Ave Bridge in Cleveland, Brown called on the Class 1 railroad companies in Ohio to improve bridge upkeep. When Norfolk Southern did not take satisfactory action, Brown again called on the company to repair it in December.
PUSHING FOR RAIL SAFETY:
Brown is fighting to pass his bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 to prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine. The bill Brown drafted with Senator J.D. Vance will take a number of key steps to improve rail safety protocols, such as enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers, and more. The legislation advanced out of the Senate committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation last May with strong bipartisan support. Brown is pressuring the Senate to bring the Railway Safety Act to the floor for a vote.