EAST PALESTINE — President Joe Biden will visit the village on Friday just a little over a year after the Feb. 3, 2023, train derailment.

It will be his first visit to East Palestine and he will discuss how the Administration is continuing to work with state and local officials to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and support the community as it moves forward. The President will discuss his commitment to ensuring the people of East Palestine are not defined by this single event, and that his administration is delivering on the needs of families, businesses, and affected residents, according to a news release from the White House.

The time of his visit has not yet been announced.

Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s press secretary, said earlier this month when his planned visit was first announced, that East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and other community leaders asked the president to visit and “we felt the time was right.”Conaway has criticized Biden in the past for not visiting the village.

Biden administration officials have been to East Palestine a number of times. Biden has faced criticism and questions for not visiting East Palestine despite saying for months that he would come to the village. Some have said Biden ignored East Palestine because it is in Columbiana County, a Republican stronghold.

Michael Regan, administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has visited East Palestine a few times, and said his agency is “laser-focused on this community and our work is not yet done.”

Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, who visited East Palestine on Feb. 23, said Wednesday the derailment “was not only a crisis for the community, but a wakeup call for the country.”

Biden issued an executive order in September directing that Norfolk Southern continue to be held accountable for the derailment and address any long-term effects to the community and ensure federal assistance is available should needs develop not that are not met by the railroad company. That includes having a federal disaster recovery coordinator in East Palestine working with others to address community concerns related to the derailment.

Gov. Mike DeWine has asked Biden for a federal emergency declaration for East Palestine but hasn’t received one.