A House Republican is seeking to reassure residents of East Palestine, Ohio, the public drinking water is safe after a train derailment.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, posted a video to Twitter on Thursday of him speaking in the town.
“Hello, folks. Here I am. I’m in Palestine, in Ohio, here with the train derailment,” he began. “[I] had great meetings with Norfolk Southern, had an opportunity to speak with the mayor, EPA officials.”
The congressman went on, “The air quality is fine right now. And the water, the drinking water, within this municipality is safe to drink.
“They have a water treatment facility. They’ve tested the water. There are no issues with the public water in the city. I’m here in front of this little cafe I had and them pull a little water out of their tapper, and I’m going to drink it,” he added.
Watch the video below:
The mayor of East Palestine told me to get the word out that the public water is safe.
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) February 16, 2023
I drank it.
If you have a private well, officials still recommend drinking bottled water until it can be tested. pic.twitter.com/vf5FVcqFHG
Nehls noted, “The fire chief — everybody says the water is clean to drink in the municipality. Drink the water. If you have a private well, if you don’t have city utilities, you have a private well, they are recommending that you drink bottled water while they are testing your individual well.”
“But as it relates to public water here in the city of East Palestine, the little community here, it’s safe to drink,” he added.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) also posted a video on Thursday of him in the town. He said, “I’m here at Leslie Run and there’s dead worms and dead fish all throughout this water.”
“Something I just discovered is that if you scrape the creek bed, it’s like [a] chemical is coming out of the ground,” he continued as the video showed what looked like oil in the water. “This is disgusting. And the fact that we have not cleaned up the train crash, the fact that these chemicals are still seeping in the ground is an insult to the people who live in East Palestine.”
He added, “Do not forget these people. We’ve got to keep applying pressure. That’s how we’re gonna fix this problem.”
Visited a local creek in East Palestine today. These waterways are still very polluted. It’s time for Norfolk Southern to finish the cleanup. Check this video out: pic.twitter.com/4lsHBmrMJj
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 16, 2023
A train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3.
The train was carrying hazardous material and officials conducted a “controlled release” of vinyl chloride — a carcinogenic chemical — after the derailment.
There have been reports of 3,500 dead fish in local waterways. There have also been reports of chickens dying.
Still, EPA officials said they tested nearly 400 homes, and the air quality tests detected no level of concern. They also said they found no contaminants in water from five wells that contribute to the municipal water system.