U.S. DOT Announces More than $60 Million in Funding for State Pipeline and Underground Natural Gas Storage Safety Programs
Thursday, August 15, 2019
PHMSA 05-19
Contact: Bobby Fraser
(202) 366-4831
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced that the Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is awarding $60.3 million in formula grants to support pipeline and underground natural gas storage (UNGS) safety programs at the state level.
“PHMSA’s state partners are a critical ally towards advancing the safety of our nation’s energy infrastructure,” said PHMSA Administrator Skip Elliott.
Pipeline Safety State Base Grants reimburse up to 80 percent of a state’s annual operating costs based on state estimates and each state’s most recent program performance scores. PHMSA-certified state pipeline safety programs inspect more than 80 percent of the nation’s 2.8 million miles of gas and liquid pipelines.
In 2018, PHMSA began awarding grants designed to support state inspection and enforcement of applicable UNGS regulations. Like the State Base Grants, UNGS grants reimburse up to 80 percent of total actual costs related to personnel, equipment, and essential activities to participating states.
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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.