021623...R E. PALESTINE 1...E. Palestine...02-16-23...E. Palestine resident Kristina Ferguson, center, expresses her concerns to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan as Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, far left, and Ohio U.S. Representative Bill Johnson, left, listen...by R. Michael Semple

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Rebecca Street resident Kristina Ferguson told state and federal officials sitting in her living room that her town needs help.

“We’re a small community. Just about everybody knows everybody. We have children who have rashes. I’m not the only one that’s having this problem in our home. We need FEMA housing,” she said Thursday, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, accompanied by U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, sat down with Ferguson and heard her story, from the night of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment to the aftermath. They also heard her plea for help, not just for herself, but for the entire community that’s been thrown into chaos.

The air had been tested in the home she shares with her elderly mother, who has Parkinson’s disease, and her elderly stepfather, along with her husband, daughter and her daughter’s friend, two dogs and a bearded dragon. But she said she wants the home cleaned by a hazardous materials company, not a fire restoration firm.

“This should have been done before we came back to our homes. I love my community. Their safety needs to be recognized. We need help. We really need help,” she said.

She also said she tried to call Gov. Mike DeWine and claimed his number’s been changed.

“We’re at a loss,” she said.

Both Johnson and Regan assured her that the governor was aware and working on the situation. Regan said he talked to the governor on Wednesday night and the governor talked to the White House Thursday morning.

“The president called the governor directly and he said whatever federal resources the governor needs, if he asks, they will try to accommodate him,” Regan said.

Johnson shared that he reached out to the White House on Thursday morning about FEMA support and “he is working that aspect of it.” Brown also said he spoke to the White House.

All three officials talked about how the different agencies and different levels of government were working together, on air testing and monitoring, water testing and monitoring and cleanup of the site.

“We’re working hand in hand trying to be sure that this information gets down to you and to your community,” Regan told her, with Ferguson adding “we need President Biden.”

She said there are more than 4,000 people in this town “and they need help as much as I do. I need to know if my home’s ever going to be safe again for my mom.”

“We hear you loud and clear,” Regan responded.

Brown talked about Norfolk Southern owing her for her hotel costs and inconvenience and everything.

She talked briefly about getting help from Norfolk Southern but said they still had receipts to turn in. Both Brown and Johnson told her not to sign anything and not to give away her legal rights.

Brown said it may take weeks, it may take months, but the railroad is going to live up to what they said. And that’s important, he said, the president will do that, the governor, the Congress and all of us.

Regan noted a U.S. congressman was there, a U.S. senator, the governor’s office was represented and the federal government was there in her home. U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore was there, too.

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t care, and we want to let you know that we hear exactly what you’re saying. And we’re going to take care of this,” Regan said.

“Norfolk Southern’s going to do what they said they’re going to do,” Brown said, to which Regan added, “That’s right. We’re going to hold them accountable.”

Ferguson questioned if anyone had asked why they rushed them back to their homes, prompting Johnson to ask who told them that. She said she heard they can’t run a railroad through an evacuated town. The announcement had been made last Wednesday that people could return to their homes and that the evacuation was lifted. If she was in power, she said she would have made sure families didn’t come back before everything was cleaned up.

Ferguson said a friend called her the night of the derailment and told her she needed to evacuate and described a harrowing trip to get out and go to a hotel in Boardman. They returned Saturday due to the expense and then Sunday morning were told by a sheriff’s deputy they had to leave, so they went to a cheaper hotel in Pennsylvania.

“We weren’t getting a lot of answers,” she said, describing the situation like it was happening in slow motion.

She asked if they were picking up the odor in her house, saying what’s coming up from that sheen that’s still in that creek is producing gas.

She had her home’s air tested and said the report said it was at a 1, but was a strong 2 or 3. She wasn’t sure about the numbers. The water had not been tested, but the OEPA had reported the water from the city water system was safe. Regan said the EPA would come in and test the air quality in the home again. He noted that anyone can have their home tested by the EPA. She asked about the air monitors hanging on the poles and questioned if they were calibrated right, saying they never seem to move. Regan said they’re checked but they’ll check again. He said they’ll look at that first reading of her home and make sure it’s accurate. The EPA is monitoring for volatile organic chemicals. She also asked about water testing, and was introduced to OEPA Director Anne Vogel.

Her family remains in a hotel, including the two dogs. She comes to the home to check on the bearded dragon and uses bottled water for it.

Prior to the arrival of the officials, Ferguson said she’s lived in East Palestine for most of her life. She said her mom wants to be home, but the highest readings for the air were in her bedroom and the laundry room.

“There’s no sense in cleaning it until you can get that sheen off of that water. We need help. We do. We need President Biden. We need FEMA housing. People are getting sick,” she said.

“You don’t bring families back with their kids and their loved ones and then tell them to scrub with Dawn. You don’t do that,” she said.

When she comes to the house and stays for a period, she said, “You get a tingling in your tongue and on your lips. Heaviness in the chest, it’s not a headache, it’s pressure, it’s dizziness. It just doesn’t feel right.”

She has a doctor’s appointment today to get blood work.

When asked what she hopes the air testing of her house will find, she said “I pray that God reveals the truth. I’m trusting God on that. He will make a way.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency On-Scene Coordinator James Justice told her they still have to do sediment testing when she asked about the ground.

“We were let down. We don’t know who to trust,” Ferguson said at the end.

At the press conference at the community center in the park, Regan talked about his visit with Ferguson and said “I understand the fears and I understand the family’s worries.”

He said “the community has questions and they deserve answers. I want the community to know that we hear you, we see you and we will get to the bottom of this.”