EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Jess Conard can stand on her deck and see the trains that run the tracks through East Palestine.  

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine asked the Biden administration to make a disaster declaration for East Palestine

  • A declaration would help get the town resources through FEMA

  • DeWine said FEMA told the state they may not qualify for the funding since Norfolk Southern is already providing resources

“Here it comes," Conard said as a train came by. 

The East Palestine resident put her career on hold to become an activist after the East Palestine train derailment in February. She’s collected letters that residents have sent to elected officials.

“It has provided me with a lot of opportunities to learn about not just East Palestine, but some of the underlying reasons why we had an issue like East Palestine," Conard said. 

She’s been to Washington and Columbus to push for change. On her most recent trip to the Statehouse, she brought along a sign asking Gov. Mike DeWine to ask the Biden administration to declare a federal disaster in East Palestine. DeWine made the request Monday. 

“We were able to get DeWine to request an emergency declaration, and that’s what we went there for," Conard said. 

A disaster declaration would provide additional aid and resources for the town through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. DeWine said FEMA advised the state that the town may not qualify for the added help since Norfolk Southern is already providing support. 

“If some reason in the far future they stopped doing that," DeWine said. "We felt we ought to at least be on record, 'Look we don’t agree with you federal government when you denied the extension.'”

The White House was asked about that request Wednesday.

“As it does with all its requests, FEMA will expeditiously review the request," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.  

Conard and others will continue to wait for a response as the trains continue to rumble through town, serving as a constant reminder of what happened and what could happen again. She said even though Norfolk Southern agreed to pay cleanup costs and reimburse homeowners for lost property values; she believes FEMA funding could help in the years and decades to come. 

“That FEMA funding is going to be important to testing the inside of homes and for our medical needs going forward," Conard said. 
 
A spokesperson for DeWine said there is no indication that Norfolk Southern will stop providing resources anytime soon.