EAST PALESTINE — U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, demanded an investigation into what he called the Biden administration’s “mishandling of the East Palestine train derailment and toxic chemical burn” following the release of internal Federal Emergency Management Agency emails obtained by a watchdog group that allege a coverup of the true toxicity and public health dangers caused by the 2023 rail disaster.

“We were lied to, plain and simple,” said Rulli via a news release issued Tuesday. “I warned residents not to drink the water. I begged for caution. And I was mocked, dismissed and ridiculed. I said then, and I say now, it will take years of testing to know the full extent of the contamination. And now we know the truth was deliberately buried. That’s not a mistake. That’s a coverup.”

The FEMA emails were obtained by the Government Accountability Project — a whistleblower group — through a Freedom of Information Act request the GAP said FEMA refused. The GAP filed suit against FEMA in December and the Department of Homeland Security for failure to respond to the request.

According to Rulli’s news release, the emails “confirm that the Biden White House, FEMA, EPA and National Security Council knew about the risk of cancer clusters following the 2023 derailment but chose to keep that information from the public.”

The email recipients indicate a long list of agencies that were made aware of concerns and potential risks.

The FOIA emails were all from Jim McPherson, who was chosen in September 2023 by FEMA to oversee East Palestine’s recovery from the derailment after Biden issued an executive order directing the agency to designate a federal disaster recovery coordinator. McPherson was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of any “unmet needs” that were not addressed by Norfolk Southern and that would qualify for federal assistance.

Those unmet needs were never publicly disclosed and federal assistance was never dispersed in East Palestine or surrounding communities.

In an email dated March 29, 2024 and sent to staff at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Emergency Management and Medical Operations Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, McPherson wrote of a “critical event for East Palestine” and that “occurrence of a cancer-cluster in EP is not zero.”

“As you are all aware, the first 48 hours of the fire created a really toxic plume,” McPherson added.

In a previous email sent March 16, 2024 from McPherson to lead EPA Incident Commander Ralph Dollhopf, as well as federal EPA on-scene coordinator Mark Durno, chief of staff for EPA Region 5 Angelo Saucedo, Jill Shugart of the CDC, Jim McCracken of USDA Rural Development, USDA Area Director John Miller, CDC epidemiologist Caitlin Mertzlufft and others, McPherson provided an update to “healthcare recovery efforts” in East Palestine. Among the goals listed in the that email was a need to coordinate all NIH (National Institute of Health) grants — announced by Biden during a trip to East Palestine in February 2024 — to “support long-term health monitoring and treatment of all first responders and the community and develop plan to identify precancer clusters.” McPherson called the long-term monitoring of first responders and the community the “number one priority”.

That email also laid out plans for the East Palestine Healthcare Task Force that was to include East Liverpool City Hospital, the HHS, NIH, Ohio Health Department of Health, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, the Columbiana County EMA, Columbiana Health District, the U.S. Fire Administration and representatives from all of the institutions that received NIH grants.

According to that email, the EPHTF was to be led by East Palestine officials and serve as an “advisory board for healthcare and make recommendations to the East Palestine leadership.”

“Discussions to this point have involved both the local and state health departments which all agreed that active monitoring is needed over the course of the next 20 years,” the email stated.

If the task force was formed, it was never announced, nor were the results of a reportedly conducted Rapids Needs Assessment that “identified healthcare issues” in East Palestine.

However, the email suggests that the six NIH-funded grants announced by Biden were meant to address many of the concerns gathered through McPherson’s time in East Palestine, specifically mentioning the NIH grant to Case Western University “to study the longitudinal effect of the toxic release for long term monitoring and treatment” and “to work with East Liverpool City Hospital on establishing baselines to pre-identify issues like a possible cancer cluster.”

McPherson’s data was also used to direct settlement talks between the Department of Justice and Norfolk Southern.

That was detailed in a Nov. 13, 2023, email from McPherson to staff at the CDC, ATSDR, EMMO, USDA and EPA, as well as to East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick, Columbiana EMA Director Peggy Clark and then-County Commissioner Tim Weigle.

McPherson stressed that he would “try to persuade federal lawyers that the U.S. DOJ litigation must include a judgment and special fund paid for by Norfolk Southern to be implemented for long-term recovery” and said he was working with the USDA Rural Development to relocate the fire department.

The DOJ ultimately reached a $310 million settlement with Norfolk Southern in May 2024. Under the decent degree, Norfolk Southern is required to deposit $25 million into an interest-bearing account to cover medical monitoring and mental health services costs for up to 20 years. Qualified residents are to receive free annual medical monitoring exams with metabolic blood panels, pulmonary function tests and x-rays.

However, “qualified residents” are defined as those who resided within two miles of the derailment area or within 250 feet from Leslie Run and emergency workers who responded to the derailment. Also, the monitoring is only guaranteed for the first 15 years, with the last five years dependent on remaining funds.

The Village of East Palestine and the Columbiana County Health District both spoke out against the DOJ settlement, saying the deal fell short when addressing long-term health concerns.

The consent decree or the FEMA emails make clear if the healthcare task force is intended to oversee the medical monitoring once final approval of the settlement is granted.

But what is clear in another McPherson email is that the person directed by Biden to determine what “unmet needs” existed in East Palestine made that determination without meeting with a single resident.

In an Oct. 28, 2023, email sent to Drabick, Clark and Weigle, McPherson discloses he was directed not to speak with the public.

“I am getting calls from the vocal local community but I have been advised to best not to engage with the public until we finalize the Long Term Recovery Plan and socialize the roles of the stakeholders,” he wrote.

In that email, McPherson also disclosed that the “state” did not want him “to participate in the three November community meeting” and would rather the state, federal and officials “work on a plan to announce transition from Incident Recovery to Long Term Recovery.”

The only meeting McPherson was known to have attended in East Palestine was an economic roundtable held Nov. 30 but closed to the public. Other roundtable participants included East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, Drabick, State Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, Norfolk Southern’s then-CEO Alan Shaw and the Ohio EPA.

The Morning Journal was invited into the American Legion Hall to interview the roundtable participants after the event, but McPherson left before media access was granted.