(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) The same government officials who for weeks have been dodging accountability for the toxic train explosion in Ohio that unfolded under the supervision of the Biden regime’s Transportation Department, have ordered the same company that reportedly created the disaster to clean it up.
While President Joe Biden was being roundly criticized for not only visiting Kyiv this week instead of Ohio, but also for doling out another $500 million in largess to Ukraine, his Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced it had “ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.”
As part of its mandate, the EPA said it will “approve a workplan outlining all steps necessary to clean up the environmental damage caused by the derailment. If the company fails to complete any actions as ordered by EPA, the agency would conduct “the necessary work” and try to force the rail titan to pay triple the cost.
“The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’s order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community,” said EPA chief Michael S. Regan. “Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community.”
The tough talk did little to mollify East Palestine Mayor Trent Conoway, who told Fox News that the people of his town are still struggling and have received little government assistance.
“That was the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesn’t care about us,” Conoway said of Biden’s visit to Ukraine and his administration’s continued snubbing of Ohio.
“He can send every agency he wants to,” Conoway said, adding that so far all the government intervention has proved scant benefit. When he learned that Biden “was giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not us, then I’m furious,” he said. “That tells you what kind of guy he is.”
Biden visited Ukraine before visiting East Palestine, Ohio. Americans are not Biden’s priority.
— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) February 21, 2023
When our border is in crisis, Joe Biden goes home to nap in Delaware.
When Ohio burns with toxic chemicals, Biden’s admin says everything is fine.
So on Presidents’ Day, I’m not surprised that Biden is ditching America for Ukraine. He ditched America’s interests since the… https://t.co/svkwSunZTJ
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) February 20, 2023
Biden’s embattled Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has yet to step foot in Ohio after the toxic explosion, said he would eventually try to clear some space on his calendar.
“I am planning to go,” Buttigieg told Good Morning America. “But when I go, the focus is going to be on action.”
Meanwhile, another train has derailed under Buttigieg’s action-packed oversight.
🚨 BREAKING: A Union Pacific freight train carrying coal has derailed in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Emergency hazmat teams on site.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2023
