WASHINGTON (WV News) — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., led a congressional hearing Thursday on the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The hearing featured remarks from Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, who said he was “deeply sorry” for the impact the incident has had on East Palestine and surrounding communities.

In her opening statement, Capito said, “Before Congress considers any changes to existing laws, we must better understand what has gone wrong with this response so far and what can be done better in the future, but also what went right. So, to the residents of East Palestine and surrounding communities: Your Congress hears you.”

Norfolk Southern will be held financially responsible for the derailment and its effects on the environment, Capito said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon.

“The bottom line is that Norfolk Southern is responsible and will pay,” she said. “They are doing that now, and they will continue to do it.”

There has been a “lack of clear and distinct communications” to those in the immediate vicinity of the derailment, Capito said.

“Are things safe? ‘Yes, your house is safe to return to.’ This is what the EPA is saying. But then 30 days later, the EPA says, ‘We’ll come in and clean it.’ Well, if it’s safe, why do need to clean it? Is that water safe or is it not? Are you taking the contaminated product out? And where are you taking it?” the senator said.

Capito also touched on the train derailment in West Virginia on Tuesday near the unincorporated community of Sandstone in Summers County.

Tuesday’s incident involved an unloaded, 109-car CSX train that hit a rock that had fallen from a nearby mountain and landed on the tracks.

Three CSX employees sustained injuries in the crash and were treated for “non-life threatening injuries,” according to statement from CSX.

“An unknown quantity of diesel fuel and oil spilled from the derailed locomotives and environmental measures will be deployed in the New River for containment,” the statement reads. “There were no hazardous materials being transported by this train. The incident posed no danger to the public.”

The two incidents are not directly related, but what happened in Ohio has forced issues of rail safety to the forefront of the national conversation, Capito said.

“Certainly the East Palestine derailment heightened awareness of derailments,” she said. “With the hazardous materials, controlled burn and then this haphazard way of telling people whether it’s safe or not, it has really gripped the American public.”

What happened in Summers County raises questions about why CSX was unaware of the landslide, Capito said.

“Do we not have some kind of warning system that says, ‘Hey! The tracks aren’t clear ahead from a landslide’? Certainly I think from a safety perspective that we would have that,” she said. “Obviously not, because this locomotive ran into it.”