NTSB sets schedule for public meeting, community sessions in East Palestine

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has detailed its plans for next week’s return to East Palestine, Ohio, for community meetings and a public meeting to approve its final report on last year’s Norfolk Southern derailment and toxic-chemical release.

The board will hold community meetings June 24 and June 25 at East Palestine High School, with each beginning at 6 p.m. Both of those meetings will be in-person events only, with no online streaming planned. In between, on June 25 beginning at 9:30 a.m., the board will hold its meeting on the East Palestine investigation report. That meeting will be live streamed on the NTSB’s YouTube channel. During that meeting, the board will vote on the final findings, probable cause, and recommendations resulting from its investigation, and on any changes to the draft version of the final report.

The first community meeting, on June 24, will offer attendees an opportunity to ask NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy questions about the NTSB’s investigation process and role in transportation safety. More information is available here. The second community meeting, on June 25, will discuss the findings and recommendations in the board’s final report on the Feb. 3 derailment. More information is here. In both cases, the board cautions that matters such as air and water quality monitoring and environmental remediation are outside its jurisdiction and will not be discussed.

The board previously held rare field hearings on the East Palestine derailment on June 22-23, 2023; it had announced in February that it would return to the community for its meeting on the final investigation report, as well as community sessions [see “NTSB to return to East Palestine …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 7, 2024].