021623...R E. PALESTINE 3...E. Palestine...02-16-23...Ohio U.S. Senator J. D. Vance takes questions from the media while visiting E. Palestine Thursday morning...by R. Michael Semple

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — U.S. Sen. JD Vance said he’s focusing on public health and making sure the community of East Palestine is supported.

Vance, R-Ohio, arrived in the village Thursday and said he spent the morning talking with random people he walked up to on the street, going into businesses and meeting with public officials in the sanctuary of the Centenary United Methodist Church.

During media availability outside the church, Vance said, “Obviously I’m most concerned about the public safety component of this. Is the air breathable? Is the water drinkable?”

He said the site still isn’t cleaned up and Norfolk Southern should be doing more to clean up the contaminated soil. Another concern is whether the testing and monitoring of the air and testing of the water is adequate and if it is, what levels of contamination are acceptable?

He said his office contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday and asked that question about acceptable levels. It still had not received an answer Thursday.

“I have not been able to get a good answer on this. Frankly I am very frustrated with the CDC,” Vance said.

He offered his thanks and gratitude to the first responders, the police officers and especially the firefighters. He spoke briefly to East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick, and he said his guys are exhausted.

Vance said they deserve our support and gratitude and also deserve the equipment to do their jobs. Whether help comes from Norfolk Southern or the federal government, they need a lot of equipment replaced and that’s something he’ll be focusing on.

“Finally, we need to give this community long-term confidence that their health is protected,” he said.

Let’s say for the sake of argument that there are no concerns about the air or water, he said, noting that he already said he has concerns. But even if there were no concerns, Vance said, “We have a community that’s been affected by this tragedy that is justifiably very worried about what’s going on. So we need to give people confidence that this is a safe place to live, to work and raise a family.”

He said that will be a focus for the next two years, five years or longer.

When asked about having Ohio declared a disaster area, he said that’s something he’s discussed with the governor but it’s something they have to be careful about, “to not let Norfolk Southern off the hook.”

In further comments when asked about getting Federal Emergency Management Agency aid and about the governor being told the state doesn’t qualify for FEMA help yet, Vance said he agrees with Gov. Mike DeWine’s contention that “Norfolk Southern needs to pay up for this right now, not the American taxpayer.”

He said they may reach a point when that needs to change, but added: “When somebody causes a problem, they have an obligation to fix it. Norfolk Southern is the one that caused this problem.”

He said they need to get the resources to the community to rebuild. The community so far feels they’re getting what they need, from what he learned in talking to officials.

Vance also talked about the train not being labeled as high hazardous and said that caused a problem – it’s one of the reasons the local government didn’t know what was on that train. He said Congress can legislate that, but he’s going to be working on that. If a train would have a high hazardous designation, community officials would have to be notified so they would know what’s on the train before it arrives.

He said the Department of Transportation can act on that, too. His message to President Joe Biden is that the Department of Transportation can take some regulatory action.

Vance addressed a question about the replacement rails installed so soon after the accident on top of contaminated soil, saying, “You can’t dig up and clean up an area if there’s railroad tracks over it.”

He was asked about the air and water quality, the condition of Leslie Creek and said, “This morning I was immediately struck by the smell of the air.”

When he toured the creek area, he said he stuck a stick down in the mud and dragged it along and said chemicals immediately bubbled up. That’s a problem.

He also said he was encouraging people to drink bottled water and to keep getting their water wells tested even after an initial test.

Vance said there are three areas where officials need to focus: public safety, cleanup and why the derailment happened.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, also visited East Palestine on Thursday and looked at the creek and the crash scene, along with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. Brown said he met with firefighters and talked with East Palestine residents.

In a press release, he said, “I’m here today to listen to the people this disaster is hurting the most — the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding communities. My office and I are exploring every option. Since the day of the derailment, I’ve been talking with EPA, NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), and CDC. And we’ve sent them letters calling for action and for recommendations to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Brown said. “We are going to get this community answers and we are going to make sure they have the help they need.”

Ohioans can visit Brown’s website for more information, and the press release said to call 330-849-3919 to request air or water testing.

During an afternoon press conference, Regan, Brown and U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, all said they’ll be watching Norfolk Southern.

“We will hold Norfolk Southern responsible. I can promise you that,” Regan said.

“No community should have to go through something like this,” Johnson said.

People were urged to get the air in their homes tested before going back and were told to get their wells tested if they have a well. They were also told to go see their family physician if not feeling well and to share those results with the state or local health departments.

OEPA Director Anne Vogel said this is the emergency phase, then they’ll go into the remediation phase, including long-term planning for monitoring.

When asked if he would drink the water, Regan said he would. He trusts the science. The OEPA had tested the village’s water wells and determined the village’s water supply was safe.

Vogel said she noticed the sign upon entering the village that declares East Palestine the place to be.

“We’re going to make sure East Palestine continues to be the place to be,” she said.