PHMSA Awarding $100MM for Pipeline, Hazmat Safety

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will award $98,800,117 to states, territories and tribes for six pipeline and five hazardous materials safety grant programs in FY 2021.

One of the five hazmat safety programs is rail-related: $1.6 million in Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training grants will be provided to support the training of volunteer or remote emergency responders to respond to incidents involving hazmat shipments by rail.

This is part of more than $28 million in awards that will support state and local hazmat programs nationwide. The others are:
• “$21 million in Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grants for states, territories and tribes to aid in the development, implementation and improvement of emergency plans for local and tribal communities and first-responder hazmat training. 
• “$3.5 million in Hazardous Materials Instructor Training grants to support the training of hazmat instructors and for such instructors to train hazardous materials employees.
• “$1.3 million in Supplemental Public Sector Training grants to support the training of hazmat instructors that conduct hazmat training programs for first responders.  
• “$1.3 million in Community Safety grants to support projects that enhance the capabilities of communities to respond to hazmat emergencies and the training of state and local enforcement personnel responsible for enforcing the safe transport of hazmat.”  

The awards also provide more than $69 million to six pipeline safety grant programs: 
• “$58 million in Pipeline Safety State Base grants to support state inspection and enforcement of pipeline safety regulations for natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines.
• “$4.8 million in Underground Natural Gas Storage grants to support efforts to inspect and enforce safety requirements, as well as mitigate releases from underground natural gas storage facilities, such as the October 2015 incident involving the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility in Los Angeles County, California.
• “$2.1 million in Pipeline Safety Technical Assistance grants to support local community involvement in pipeline safety issues.
• “$1.8 million in Competitive Academic Agreement Program awards to spur and utilize university research to advance pipeline safety technologies, innovation, and knowledge dissemination. 
• “$1.7 million in State Damage Prevention Program grants to support and strengthen states’ efforts in addressing pipeline failures attributed to activities such as excavation damage.
• “$1.1 million in One-Call grants to help improve state one-call notification systems and enhance damage prevention education and enforcement efforts.”

Download the detailed list of grant recipients and award information:

“States and community groups play an important role in addressing the safety challenges associated with pipelines and hazardous materials,” PHMSA Acting Administrator Tristan Brown said. “The grants announced today [Sept. 29] are essential in supporting the resource needs of states and localities to effectively enforce safety standards, train response personnel, and equip everyday citizens with the necessary tools to protect themselves from transportation-related accidents.”