WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced a combined total of $34,330,770 in awards for nine separate pipeline safety and hazardous materials safety grant programs. The grants will be awarded to states, local communities, tribal entities, territories, Universities, emergency responders, and non-profit organizations to support various safety programs at the state and local levels.

“These pipeline and hazardous materials grants will enhance the capabilities of emergency responders and others on the front lines of safety in local communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

Last month, PHMSA awarded more than $60.3 million to support state pipeline and underground natural gas safety programs. The awards announced today will fund several pipeline safety initiatives including underground infrastructure damage prevention, public awareness, pipeline safety research and innovation, equipment, and other technical assistance.

Several PHMSA grants, such as HMEP, HMIT, ALERT, SPST, and CSG support the design and implementation of both in-person and online training for emergency responders and hazmat employees working on the front line of hazmat safety to ensure they are prepared deal with the unique challenges of hazmat transportation in commerce and related incidents.

“Roughly one million shipments of hazardous materials are transported by various modes every single day throughout the U.S.,” said PHMSA Administrator Skip Elliott. “Proper training, planning, and preparedness are indispensable in keeping responders and the people they protect safe.”

The awards include:

Hazardous Materials Safety Grants

$20.6 million in Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants

$3.7 million in Hazardous Materials Instructor Training (HMIT) grants

$1.9 million in Supplemental Public Sector Training (SPST) grants

$1.3 million in Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) grants

$800,000 in Community Safety Grants (CSG)

Pipeline Safety Grants

$1.9 million through the Competitive Academic Agreement Program (CAAP)

$1.6 million in State Damage Prevention (SDP) Grants

$1.2 million in One Call Grants

$1 million in Technical Assistance Grants (TAG)

For a detailed listing of grant recipients and award information, go to: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/news/phmsa-fiscal-year-2019-grants

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The mission of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives.  PHMSA develops and enforces regulations for the safe operation of the nation’s 2.8 million-mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly one 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.