Governor Mike DeWine and FEMA Regional Administrator Thomas C. Sivak announced that FEMA will deploy an Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) and a Senior Response Official on Saturday, according to a joint news release.
The pair released this statement:
FEMA and the State of Ohio have been in constant contact regarding emergency operations in East Palestine. U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA have been working together since day one. Tomorrow, FEMA will supplement federal efforts by deploying a Senior Response Official along with a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) to support ongoing operations, including incident coordination and ongoing assessments of potential long-term recovery needs.
According to FEMA, the train derailment and the current state of East Palestine does not qualify for assistance as it is not considered a natural disaster, said DeWine earlier on Friday. The state of Ohio has "preemptively" filed a document with FEMA preserving the right to apply for assistance in the future, he went on to say.
Applying for FEMA would only come should Norfolk Southern refuse to pay to remediate the issues that are present following the train derailment. The "railroad should pay," DeWine said.
RELATED:
- Derailed Norfolk Southern train traveled through Northeast Ohio before crashing in East Palestine, NTSB says
- East Palestine residents concerned about lasting effects from hazardous materials after train derailment
- One of the few researchers studying vinyl chloride's health effects has warnings
View more continuing coverage of the East Palestine train derailment here.
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