File Photo by Stephanie Elverd U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaks to the press during a visit to East Palestine in September. Vance has criticized both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Biden administration for what he believes has been a protracted cleanup of the Feb. 3 train derailment

EAST PALESTINE , Ohio– It’s been nine months since the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine and eight months since U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, along with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023. On Thursday, Vance voiced both frustration and exasperation that the legislation meant to strengthen rail safety and prevent another disaster like East Palestine has stalled.

“Two hundred and fifty days have passed since the disastrous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Yet Congress has still not passed commonsense railway safety legislation to prevent something like this from happening again,” said Vance. “Enough is enough – it’s time for the Senate to pass the Railway Safety Act.”

The Ohio Senators along with Bob Casey, D-Pa., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 on March 1 in response to derailment and toxic chemical release. The bill would enhance and strengthen rail safety and mandate, among other things, wayside defect detectors, two-person crews, increased fines against rail carriers and granting the department of transportation the authority to institute and modify new safety requirements and procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials like vinyl chloride.

So far, the rail industry has pushed back at the proposed regulations, particularly the two-person crew requirement. The American Association of Railroads (AAR) released a statement on May 10, the day the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the Railway Safety Act, that the bill “falls short of its goal to rectify a current safety challenge.” The AAR stated that “challenges remain with certain provisions, including those that mandate crew staffing models, expand hazmat transportation operating requirements, micromanage detector networks, and unnecessarily broaden manual inspections.”

On the state level, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made two-person crews mandatory for all trains that transport commodities through the state when he signed the $13.5 billion state transportation budget in March. On June 29, the day before the rule was to go into effect, the rail industry pushed back when the AAR filed suit in U.S. District Court to block the provision, arguing jurisdiction of the U.S. railways is exclusive to federal agencies.

The Railway Safety Act passed the Senate Commerce Committee in May and is now awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.

Aside from the swift passage of the Railway Safety Act, which he called “common sense” legislation, Vance also demanded other action in response to the derailment. Vance called on the Biden administration to declare a Federal Disaster Declaration, while demanding full scale indoor air testing for village residences, improved public health monitoring, long-term health support and complete cleanup of Leslie and Sulphur Runs. Vance has made several trips to area waterways in the wake of the rail disaster and has witnessed the contamination first hand.

“Even 250 days after the derailment, petroleum-based contaminants remain visible in the creek waters,” Vance said through an emailed statement. “Yet the EPA’s cleanup focus is only just now turning to the waterways. The Biden administration’s slow pace is endangering the health and safety of East Palestine residents. Swifter action is necessary.”