EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Vice President JD Vance will return to East Palestine next week on Feb. 3, the 2-year anniversary of when dozens of train cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash.
News 5 confirmed the details with a spokesperson from the vice president's office. Senator Bernie Moreno, Governor Mike DeWine, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Ohio Senator Jon Husted are expected to join the cice president.
Vance has made several trips to East Palestine in the wake of the crash. In 2023, he and former Sen. Sherrod Brown met with residents and heard their concerns.
RELATED: Ohio's senators visit East Palestine to see damage caused by Norfolk Southern train derailment
Last year, Vance returned to the small town to speak about the bipartisan Railway Safety Bill.
RELATED: In East Palestine, JD Vance calls for action on Railway Safety Act
The derailment
Dozens of cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash on Feb. 3, 2023, in East Palestine. Vinyl chloride was later released into the air from five of those cars before crews ignited it to eliminate the highly flammable, toxic chemicals in a controlled environment, creating a dark plume of smoke.
Residents from nearby neighborhoods in Ohio and Pennsylvania were evacuated because of health risks from the fumes but were told on Feb. 8, 2023, that it was safe to return home.
The National Transportation Safety Board has since released its initial report on the derailment, stating the train crew tried to stop the train in East Palestine when they received an alert about one of the car's wheel bearings overheating to a critical temperature of over 250 degrees above the ambient temperature.
Earlier this week, the Village of East Palestine and Norfolk Southern reached a $22 million settlement resolving all of the village's claims arising from the train derailment.
RELATED: Norfolk Southern and East Palestine announce $22 million settlement after 2023 derailment
The settlement is to be used for priorities the village identifies in connection with the derailment, but it also recognizes about $13.5 million that Norfolk Southern has already paid to the village, according to the joint announcement posted Monday on the village's website. It also reaffirms Norfolk Southern's commitment of $25 million to ongoing improvements to East Palestine City Park.
"The derailment disrupted our lives," Mayor Trent Conaway said. "We want to make sure the community is not defined by the derailment."
So far, Conaway said Norfolk Southern has helped pay for improvements for replacing fire and police equipment and vehicles, improve the village water treatment plant and renovate the historic train depot and key land purchases.
Norfolk Southern and the village agreed that a proposed regional safety training center in the village is not feasible, and work will not proceed with building the center, according to the statement. Norfolk Southern agreed to transfer about 15 acres acquired for the center to the village, and it remains committed to providing training for East Palestine's first responders at other facilities in the region.
"While the concept was very promising, we felt it would put an unsustainable burden on the village," Conaway said.
CLICK HERE to read News 5's previous East Palestine Train Derailment coverage.
While that settlement ends any disputes between the village and Norfolk Southern, court proceedings continue involving a $600 million settlement between Norfolk Southern and the residents impacted by the derailment.
William "Smiley" Hugar, whose home is right next to where the derailment occurred, is trying to stay positive about the future of East Palestine while he continues to wait for his compensation.
"They said we’re going to give it to you over the holidays," Hugar recalled. "I should have asked which holidays and what year cause we’re still waiting."
Hugar told News 5 that he hopes the village uses their settlement to help retain and draw in residents to the community.
"We’re losing people real fast so one day this will be the ghost town of East Palestine," he said. "East Palestine used to be a city and it's been dropping and dropping and this train derailment didn’t help."
