By John Seewer, Associated Press, and staff
COLUMBUS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ordering states to stop blocking contaminated waste from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine from being sent to hazardous waste storage sites around the nation.
Ohio leaders, including Republicans Gov. Mike DeWine and U.S. Sen. JD Vance, expressed concern about the slow pace of waste removal.
DeWine issued a statement earlier this month expressing concern about a “stall” in the removal of contaminated soil from the derailment site, threatening future contamination and putting residents’ health at risk.
The threats cannot be fully eliminated until the contaminated soil is removed, he said.
As of Friday, DeWine says there was still a pile of approximately 26,500 tons of excavated soil waiting for removal while only 5,400 tons had been removed.
A handful of political leaders and states have sought to block shipments.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt last week said he had stopped waste from the derailment from coming into his state.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said on Friday there was no reason for states to block shipments of waste.
The EPA has ordered railroad Norfolk Southern to cover the costs of cleaning up from the Feb. 3 derailment and Ohio this week filed a lawsuit against the company to make sure it pays for the cleanup and environmental and economic damage along with groundwater and soil monitoring in the years ahead.