DOT Announces $19.9 Million in First Responder Grants to Help Protect Communities
 

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) today announced grants totaling $19.9 million will go to states, territories and Native American tribes to improve the nation's response to hazardous materials transportation incidents. Since 1993, more than 2.5 million emergency responders around the country have received training assistance using PHMSA grants.

"Safety is our highest priority and these grants will help first responders across the country get the training they need to stay safe and protect other people," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "DOT grants improve planning, training, and preparedness for hazmat response teams, firefighters, police, and other first responders."

PHMSA's Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program allows recipients to design and implement planning and training programs according to the need. For this grant cycle, HMEP applicants were encouraged to allocate funding towards activities such as:

• developing or revising emergency plans and training activities to account for bulk transportation of energy products by rail and over the road;
• ensuring that state, Federal, and local emergency planning and preparedness is established, integrated, and mutually supportive; and
• increasing the availability of hazardous materials training to accommodate volunteer organizations.

"Well-trained first responders play a critical role in any hazardous materials incident," said PHMSA Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez. "These grants are part of our comprehensive approach to improving the safe transportation of crude oil and other hazardous material across the country."

Grants from PHMSA are funded by annual user registration fees paid by shippers and carriers of certain hazardous materials in commerce. During grant period 2013-14, HMEP grants funded more than 91,000 first responders in initial or refresher hazardous materials response training, over 1,300 new or revised hazardous materials emergency response plans, and over 950 hazardous materials exercises.

All 50 states, five U.S. territories, and ten Native American Indian tribes received HMEP grant funding this year.

Awardee Funding Distribution

TOTAL FY 2015 HMEP GRANTS: $19,922,952
 

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration develops and enforces regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the nation's 2.6 million mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea, and air. Please visit http://phmsa.dot.gov or https://twitter.com/PHMSA_DOT for more information.

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