Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called on railway company Norfolk Southern on Sunday to support more industry regulations aimed at improving safety standards amid growing concerns about the environmental impacts of the company’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
“Norfolk Southern and your industry must demonstrate that you will not seek to supercharge profits by resisting higher standards that could benefit the safety of workers and the safety of American communities,” Buttigieg wrote in a letter to Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw of stalled Obama-era regulations for railway companies.
“This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry, shifting to a posture that focuses on supporting, not thwarting, efforts to raise the standard of U.S. rail safety regulation.”…