(WKBN) — Some tough words were spoken Friday by the head of the U.S. EPA — especially for those trying to keep waste from the East Palestine train derailment from being sent to other states for disposal.

Administrator Michael Regan says he has sent a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern railroad to speed up the process of removing contaminated materials from the site of the derailment and send it to federally approved disposal sites. He also sent letters to officials in other states warning them not to try and stop the waste shipments.

Those letters can be found on the EPA’s website under “administrative orders and directives.”

“Let me be clear. We ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up the mess it made and no one should be impeding, preventing or getting in the way of cleaning up this site and returning East Palestine to the beautiful community residents know it to be,” Regan said.

Regan says those states that try to keep waste shipments from being accepted could face federal legal action, adding it will also be the railroad’s responsibility to see to it all of the contaminants are properly disposed of.

Regan expects the cleanup work to be finished in about three months.