Trump is set to visit East Palestine after cutting rail regulations as president

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A Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the night before in East Palestine, Ohio, remains burning as of midday on Feb. 4. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, after criticizing the federal response to the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals. But while Trump’s visit draws more attention to the cleanup, it also highlights the disconnect between his promises to Rust Belt towns like East Palestine and his actual record in office.

Trump visited as a leading Republican contender to challenge President Biden in next year’s election, citing his 2016 promises to restore white rural communities and postindustrial cities. Although those areas are likely to suffer from dangerous train derailments, his administration has reduced rail safety protections. In 2015, the Obama administration initiated regulations mandating that trains carrying flammable crude oil use electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. This is a looser regulation than the National Transportation Safety Board advises, and the train that derailed in East Palestine would not have qualified because while it was carrying tankers of toxic chemicals, it had no crude oil.

Despite calls for a wider range of cargo to be subject to the new regulation, Trump has moved the other way after taking office. His administration reinstated the rule on trains carrying flammable liquids, stating that the cost of the new braking systems outweighed the accident prevention benefits. The Associated Press found that the Department of Transportation during the Trump administration underestimated the future damages of the wrecks during its review by more than $100 million.

A black plume rises over East Palestine as a result of the controlled explosion of a part of a derailed train, Feb. 6. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

These ECP brakes are critical for oil trains, Steven Ditmeyer, a train safety expert and former official at the Federal Railroad Administration, told the AP at the time. This makes a lot of sense: All the brakes are applied immediately, and there will be fewer cars in the pileup.

Related: How dangerous train derailments affect communities like East Palestine, Ohio >>>

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Trumps rollback comes after extensive lobbying from the rail industry during and before his tenure, with Norfolk Southern saying it opposed additional speed limits and requiring ECP brakes in a 2015 lobbying disclosure. The railroad industry spent more than $6 million on Republican campaigns in 2016, its largest spending by any party in any cycle since at least 1990, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks the flow of political money. of the US. In 2019, Trumps DOT moved to loosen restrictions on the transportation of natural gas by rail.

State officials ordered an evacuation of the area around the derailment on February 3, and on February 6, the company and officials set fire to five tankers of vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. Two days later, residents were told it was safe to return to their homes, but people continued to report illnesses and air and water safety concerns.

While the Environmental Protection Agency and the NTSB were on the scene early, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg did not issue a statement on the incident until 10 days after the derailment. Last week, EPA Director Michael Regan visited East Palestine and pledged to help the community as needed and hold Norfolk Southern accountable for cleanup and restitution costs.

A member of the Ohio EPA Emergency Response team assesses the toxicity of Leslie Run Creek in East Palestine on Monday. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images)

In an interview with Fox News Monday night, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said he felt Biden’s visit to Ukraine was the biggest slap in the face so far that tells you he doesn’t care about us, adding, He could send every agency he wants, but I found out this morning in one of the briefings that he is in Ukraine giving millions of dollars to the people there, not to us, and I am furious.

Asked at a press conference Tuesday if he would welcome Biden to town, Conaway said he wouldn’t turn anyone away even though residents want things to return to normal as soon as possible. The mayor added that while he stands by his comments, he was deeply disappointed when they were made.

The Biden administration’s response became more aggressive on Tuesday, with the EPA announcing it would take over the response to the devastation and create a plan for Norfolk Southern, which has been accused of prioritizing the speed of reopening lines than safety in its initial cleaning. Additionally, the Department of Transportation has released a set of proposals intended to increase rail safety, and Buttigieg told ABC News he plans to visit in the future and focus on rail safety action.

Related: Railroad company accused of mishandling toxic response to Ohio train derailment >>>

Ohio Gov. said. Mike DeWine, a Republican, whom Biden contacted in the days after the derailment, pledged any support the area needed. DeWine initially refused to declare a disaster despite urging by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who says it won’t help FEMA’s response. On Friday, DeWine and FEMA announced in a joint statement that there will be additional federal response teams arriving in the area. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Ohio Department of Health opened a clinic in East Palestine on Tuesday, more than two weeks after the crash.

Trump claimed credit for the shipment in a post on his Truth Social platform last week: Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that I was going, he announced a team that was going. I hope he’s there too. This is good news because we moved them. The people of East Palestine need help. See you on Wednesday!

The East Palestine City School District announced Monday that it will be closed for the Trumps’ visit due to heightened security measures and a large number of street closures. Trump won 71% of the vote in Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located, in 2020. He won 59% of the vote in nearby Beaver County, Pa. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich rescheduled a planned town hall Friday to avoid conflict with what she refers to as the circus coming to town.

Please understand that Superman is not coming to make everything better, Brockovich wrote last week on Twitter. It’s likely to get worse before they get better. But [East Palestine,] you are not alone and we are not going anywhere.

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