The derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, has brought fresh attention to the US Environmental Protection Agency and its leader, Michael Regan.
Regan has traveled back and forth to East Palestine in recent weeks, meeting with residents and local and state officials, as federal efforts ramp up to address the wreck that unleashed plumes of black smoke and contaminated the soil at the crash site and some waterways.
On Tuesday, Regan visited an East Palestine home and drank tap water with Gov. Mike DeWine – trying to reinforce earlier assurances that the municipal water supply is safe. Shortly after, the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern, the company who operated the train carrying hazardous materials, to handle and pay for all necessary cleanup.
“The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’s order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community,” Regan said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Senate confirmed Regan as EPA administrator with a bipartisan vote in March 2021, making him the first Black man to lead the agency in its 50-year history. His historic confirmation followed that of Lisa Jackson, who during the Obama administration became the first African American to head the agency.
A Goldsboro, North Carolina, native and graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Regan holds an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a master’s degree in public administration from The George Washington University, according to his EPA biography.
He met his wife, Melvina, at A&T, according to a university news release, and the couple shares one son, Matthew.
Regan has said attending the historically Black college in…
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