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9/25/2023
President Joe Biden late last week issued an executive order that directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency to appoint a coordinator to oversee recovery efforts stemming from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern Railway train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The executive order also included steps to ensure that NS "continues to to be held accountable for this disaster, to address any of the disaster’s long-term effects, and to ensure federal assistance is available to affected communities should needs develop that are not met" by NS, the order states.
The order stopped short of declaring the area a major disaster, something Ohio state officials had requested. But the request will be held open, and if FEMA receives new information that NS is not following through on its commitments, the agency's administrator will submit a recommendation on whether a major disaster declaration is warranted.
As part of the order, the U.S. Department of Transportation within 60 days must report its actions to Biden. The USDOT report will be updated within 120 days of the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report of its investigation into the derailment’s cause.
The USDOT will then provide Biden a preliminary set of follow-up actions to ensure accountability.
After the derailment, NS announced a “Make It Right” initiative in which it pledged to help the community recover from the derailment and its impact. To read more about that initiative, click here.