The Trump administration has initiated a new investigation into the handling of a toxic spill incident in East Palestine, Ohio that occurred three years ago.

In a joint letter issued Friday, Vice President JD Vance and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin requested that the Environmental Protection Agency’s acting inspector general, Nicole Murley, conduct a “comprehensive, independent” probe into the Biden administration’s response to the derailment.

The request follows this week’s release of an initial assessment by a government watchdog group, which found that chemicals spilled during the incident could have endangered thousands of Americans.

Vance and Zeldin wrote: “For over three years, the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities have lived with the aftermath of the critical decisions of the Biden-Harris Administration and Norfolk Southern.”

The probe also references a recent EPA enforcement action against a government subcontractor whose analysts were found to have altered groundwater sampling data collected at the derailment site in fall 2025.

A copy of the letter states: “For over three years, the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities have lived with the fateful decisions of the Biden Administration, State of Ohio, and Norfolk Southern.”