PHMSA 8-07
Monday, October 1, 2007

DOT Grants $372,000 to American Indian Tribes to Improve Hazardous Materials Planning and Training

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today announced grants to 12 American Indian tribes totaling more than $372,000 for planning and training to improve tribal response capabilities to hazardous materials transportation incidents.

The Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants help prepare hazmat first responders to react to accidents involving hazardous materials on tribal lands that are often outside the emergency response jurisdiction of local cities, counties or states, Secretary Peters said.

We are working to help American Indian communities prepare to respond adequately to a hazardous materials emergency,¿ Secretary Peters said.

Last year, the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin was able to train 112 first responders in hazardous materials awareness, operations, incident command and annual refresher training. Training included a hazardous materials exercise so that first responders could practice responses and procedures.

The grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation¿s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are funded by user fees paid by shippers and carriers of certain hazardous materials.

Since 1993, over 2 million emergency responders and others have received training assistance nationwide using HMEP grants. Assistance was also given in fiscal year 2006 to approximately 1,700 local emergency planning committees in preparing and exercising hazardous materials emergency response plans and in conducting commodity flow studies that identify transportation hazards.

The grants to American Indian tribes are part of $12.8 million in HMEP funding provided this year to train emergency responders across the country.

A list of the fiscal year 2007 grant amounts to American Indian tribes follows: