FEMA Will Dispatch Team to Ohio Town Dealing With Aftermath of Toxic Train Derailment

A general view as members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (not pictured) inspect the site of a train derailment of hazardous material in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2023. Alan Freed/Reuters

A day after alerting Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine that the Norfolk Southern Railway train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine does not qualify for an emergency declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced it will send a team to the eastern Ohio village dealing with the disaster’s aftermath.

In a joint statement on Feb. 17, DeWine and FEMA Regional Administrator Thomas Sivak reported that the federal agency has been in “constant contact” with the state and “working together since day one.”