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Energy & Environment
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Energy & Environment
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over the weekend dispatched a team to the town of East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a Feb. 3 train derailment.
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FEMA on Saturday deployed a senior response official and a regional incident management assistance team to support ongoing operations. The agency’s regional administrator and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) stressed joint efforts in announcing the move.
“FEMA and the State of Ohio have been in constant contact regarding emergency operations in East Palestine. U.S. EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and Ohio EPA have been working together since day one,” DeWine and FEMA Regional Administrator Thomas Sivak said in a joint statement.
A freight train operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad derailed in the town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border earlier this month. Materials spilled in the derailment included vinyl chloride, a hazardous substance used in the production of plastic.
While state and federal officials have said the local air and water is safe for humans, at least 3,500 fish have died in local waterways, and both DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan have recommended the use of bottled water.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
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How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:
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As arid Arizona scrambles to quench the thirst of a rapidly expanding population, officials are eying the Sonoran seaside in Mexico as a potential wellspring for future demand.
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on Sunday urging the company to support higher rail safety standards amid growing concerns about the environmental consequences of its train derailment in northeastern Ohio.
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Communities alongside rail lines had two more close calls this week as freight trains carrying hazardous materials derailed in Houston and Detroit.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Lawmakers are doling out blame and demanding answers on the train derailment in Ohio. Legislators from both parties are expressing frustration and asking for more to be done, though Republicans in particular have put Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg directly in the hot seat.
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News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
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An activist group is spreading misinformation to stop solar projects in rural America (NPR and Floodlight)
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Before Ohio derailment, Norfolk Southern lobbied against safety rules (The Washington Post)
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‘My kids are being poisoned’: How aviators escaped America’s war on lead (Politico)
- How Climate Change Is Making Tampons (and Lots of Other Stuff) More Expensive (The New York Times)
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the East Palestine derailment on an unspecified date in early March.
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Two key stories on The Hill right now:
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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Monday hit back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s calls for a “national divorce” of Republican and Democratic states, saying the lawmaker’s rhetoric is “evil.” Read more
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has granted Fox News host Tucker Carlson and his team access to surveillance footage from the U.S. Capitol around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Read more
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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!
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