WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is blaming Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for the train crash that spilled toxic chemicals all over East Palestine, Ohio.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday, Manchin addressed the electric brakes, which experts at the Federal Railroad Administration say could have minimized the damage in the crash. Those regulations would have required the brakes to be in place by 2023. But according to Manchin such regulations don't matter.
"You can put all the regulations you want. It doesn't mean anything if you don't monitor," Manchin said, addressing the "heavier loads" and "faster speeds" trains travel and other actions.
The Federal Railroad Administration's requirement for electronically-controlled pneumatic brakes for trains carrying hazardous materials ushered in by former President Barack Obama in 2015 was relaxed under Donald Trump's administration. That said, the train had just under the limit of flammable liquids to meet that regulatory standard.
It's unclear if this was intentional by the corporation to avoid any regulations. The corporation skirted the regulations by incorporating non-hazardous and non-flammable material in the train cars.
The NTSB said in their report that the crew saw the fire after the train stopped. While first responders tried to mitigate the fire, "five derailed DOT-105 specification tank cars (railcars 28–31 and 55) carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising."
Manchin has blamed President Joe Biden and Buttigieg for the derailment, saying last week, “This raises serious questions around equipment maintenance, inspections, and existing safety systems intended to prevent these accidents.”
When asked if Buttigieg deserved more blame, Manchin said simply, "he's responsible. He's responsible to oversee it."
Rail corporations spent millions lobbying elected officials not to support stronger transportation safety regulations. The company that owns the Ohio train, Norfolk Southern, ignored warnings from employees about understaffing and safety risks. Instead, the company paid their executives millions and spent billions on stock buybacks. Shareholders sought to “assess, review, and mitigate risks of hazardous material transportation," the SEC reported. Norfolk Southern officials managed to stop it.
While Manchin is demanding answers, he hasn't yet proposed any legislation that would require train companies transporting hazardous or flammable materials to follow any regulations regardless of the train's size.
In the last six months, Norfolk Southern has had three derailments dumping trash and fuel. A fourth incident was with empty cars.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) told Raw Story that "the industry needs to be closely regulated. I think that they have enjoyed the benefit of hands-off and I think that would reduce these type of things from happening."
