On Thursday, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy publicly criticized Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg over what she claims is false information about the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
On Feb. 13, 10 days after the derailment, Buttigieg acknowledged the incident for the first time on Twitter. The following day, he blamed Trump-era deregulation for the catastrophe.
Multiple commentators have attributed the disaster to the Trump administration’s reversal of an Obama-era rule requiring electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on “high-hazard flammable” trains. (RELATED: Biden Admin Rejects Ohio’s Request For Disaster Aid After Toxic Train Derailment)
“We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015),” Buttigieg tweeted, “but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe.”
Even MORE proof that the EPA is LYING to the people of East Palestine.
THIS WATER IS INSANELY CONTAMINATED. pic.twitter.com/rNlNxxBTDd
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 16, 2023
On Thursday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, a Biden appointee, responded, accusing Buttigieg of spreading “misinformation.”
“Some are saying the ECP (electronically controlled pneumatic) brake rule, if implemented, would’ve prevented this derailment. FALSE – here’s why…” Homendy tweeted. “The ECP braking rule would’ve applied ONLY to HIGH HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS. The train that derailed in East Palestine was a MIXED FREIGHT TRAIN containing only 3 placarded Class 3 flammable liquids cars.”
Lever News notes that, during the Obama administration, the NTSB unsuccessfully lobbied for a broader definition of “high-hazard flammable.”