Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw will appear before a Senate hearing Thursday bearing an apology and a promise to send millions of dollars to the village of East Palestine, Ohio, torn apart by a fiery derailment last month.
“I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities, and I am determined to make it right,” Shaw says in prepared remarks seen by the Associated Press and released ahead of the first hearing by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern-operated train in Ohio.
Shaw promises the railroad will do “the right thing” with a $20 million commitment to help the devastated community recover, the outlet details.
The company has announced several voluntary safety upgrades. Senators, however, have committed to a pressing inquiry into the derailment and the company’s safety practices as well as the emergency response to the toppling of 38 railcars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, which visited mayhem on the small community.
As Breitbart News reported, a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled 1.6 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the East Palestine affecting its 4,700 residents on February 3. Among the substances were ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene.
More than 2,000 people were subsequently evacuated due to health concerns but have since been allowed to return.
Watch as a massive inferno and threat of a “catastrophic” explosion follow the initial 50-car derailment:
Now the Senate committee wants answers.
“I want to hear what did they do wrong, what mistakes did they make,” said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., the chair of the committee. “There’s been a number of criticisms of what they did, and to have him respond to those criticisms on the record.”
Carper joined the top Republican on the committee, Sen. Shelley Capito of West Virginia, in a call with reporters to emphasize they would work in bipartisan fashion “to deliver accountability to the communities and folks who have been impacted.”
Thursday’s hearing will be the first in any congressional committee on the derailment since it occurred in February, but Capito and Carper indicated it was unlikely to be the last.
The committee will also hear from Ohio and Pennsylvania senators — one Republican and two Democrats — who are pushing new safety regulations called the Railway Safety Act of 2023.
President Joe Biden has not visited the community in the aftermath of the derailment however his predecessor Donald Trump has already been to offer his personal help and condolences.
Watch as former President Donald trump visits East Palestine:
The Democratic president has said he will visit the community at some point, but the White House has not released specific plans.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg meanwhile went to East Palestine late last month to a mixed reception from angry local residents, as Breitbart News reported.
Buttigieg refused to explain why it took nearly three weeks to visit the scene, ignoring press inquiries while his own press secretary refused to answer questions with cameras rolling.