Ensuring the People of East Palestine Are Protected Now and in the Future
The order formalizes and coordinates the federal government's ongoing response to the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, directing multiple agencies to continue cleanup oversight, public health monitoring, and accountability efforts.
It requires a Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator to assess unmet community needs, mandates a series of presidential progress reports from EPA, HHS, and DOT, and holds in abeyance a major disaster declaration to give Ohio time to identify needs that Norfolk Southern cannot address.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security, EPA, DOT, FEMA, and HHS to use their existing authorities to continue the federal response to the East Palestine train derailment. Within five days, the Secretary of Homeland Security must designate a Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator to assess unmet community needs beyond the EPA-directed cleanup. EPA must continue directing contaminated soil and wastewater removal, ensure surface stream sediment cleanup, and submit an initial report within 30 days followed by updates every 60 days. HHS must submit a public health assessment report within 60 days and continue monitoring long-term health consequences, with the HHS Secretary required to consider whether a public health emergency declaration is warranted. DOT must submit a report within 60 days on actions taken in response to the derailment, with a follow-up due within 120 days of the final NTSB investigation.
The order holds Ohio's pending major disaster declaration request in abeyance to allow the state to submit future-needs information first. It does not itself reclassify the incident, change any statute, or create enforceable rights for affected residents. Implementation is contingent on available appropriations and existing law.
Who it affects
Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania affected by the derailment; Norfolk Southern Railway Company, which remains subject to EPA's cleanup order; and the federal agencies directed to coordinate, report, and respond under this order.
Why it matters
Community members in East Palestine and nearby areas gain a designated federal coordinator to identify unmet recovery needs and a clearer path to potential Stafford Act disaster aid. Norfolk Southern remains under active federal supervision for cleanup costs, and residents receive a structured schedule of progress reports to the President.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
A Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator is designated within five days and becomes the hub for identifying community needs not met by Norfolk Southern or existing programs. That assessment feeds directly into whether FEMA recommends a major disaster declaration. EPA reports to the President at 30-day and then 60-day intervals on cleanup and Norfolk Southern's compliance. HHS and DOT each submit standalone reports at 60 days. If HHS or EPA conclude a public health emergency threshold is met, their respective statutory emergency authorities activate. No new enforcement power is created; teeth derive from CERCLA's existing UAO and the Stafford Act process.
Actions and deadlines
- Designate a Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator to oversee long-term recovery and assess unmet community needs
- Submit initial report to the President on cleanup progress and Norfolk Southern's compliance with EPA's UAO
- Submit updated cleanup and monitoring reports to the President every 60 days until all UAO-required work is complete
- Submit report to the President summarizing public health testing conclusions and HHS resources provided
- Submit report to the President on DOT actions taken in response to the derailment
- Submit updated DOT report including preliminary follow-on actions such as rulemakings or inspections
- Consider whether circumstances warrant a public health emergency declaration under 42 U.S.C. 247d
- FEMA Administrator to assess and submit recommendation on major disaster declaration if Ohio submits qualifying needs information