ICYMI: PA Governor Josh Shapiro Threw Norfolk Southern to the Wolves

Just the News

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Norfolk Southern “gave inaccurate information” about the controlled release of the toxic chemical vinyl chloride from five derailed train cars in East Palestine, Ohio, about a quarter of a mile away from the Pennsylvania state line.

Norfolk Southern did not notify Pennsylvania state authorities after its train derailed earlier this month, but instead the state agencies independently learned about the incident several hours later, Shaprio, a Democrat, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Norfolk Southern CEO and President Alan Shaw.

“Norfolk Southern gave inaccurate information and conflicting modeling about the impact of the controlled release that made protective action decision making more difficult in the immediate aftermath of the derailment,” the governor wrote. Further

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Ohio Star News

A spokesperson with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 told The Ohio Star on Monday that the Fire Chief of the East Palestine Fire Department was the individual who ordered the controlled burn following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd.

“EPA did not order the controlled burn. The local fire chief was the incident commander who made the decision in consultation with Norfolk Southern, local law enforcement, and response officials from Ohio,” the EPA spokesperson told The Star.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) an “Incident Commander (IC) is responsible for the overall management of the incident and determines which Command or General Staff positions to staff in order to maintain a manageable span of control and ensure appropriate attention to the necessary incident management functions.” Additional

So where was the EPA? – Dr. Tar