PHMSA 15-16
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Contact: Artealia Gilliard
Tel.: (202) 366-4831

DOT Announces Over $3.7M in Instructor and Public Sector
Hazardous Materials Safety Training Grants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced it issued over $3.7 million in FY2016 Hazardous Materials Instructor Training (HMIT) and Supplemental Public Sector Training (SPST) grants.

The HMIT grants fund the training of instructors who then train private-sector hazardous materials employees. The SPST grant funds national nonprofit fire service organizations to train instructors to conduct hazardous materials response training programs for local responders.

"Well-trained first responders play a critical role in any hazardous materials incident," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx. "These grants are part of our comprehensive approach to improving the safe transportation of hazardous material by highway, rail, water, and air."

The following FY 2016 HMIT grants were awarded:

• The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Corporation for Re-Employment and Safety Training ($599,926)
  
• Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service ($577,639)
  
• Sustainable Workplace Alliance ($544,683)
  
• The National Partnership for Environmental Technology Education ($449,972)
  
• The International Chemical Workers Union Council ($336,157)
  
• The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council ($266,161)

"Enhancing the safe transport of hazardous materials across the country is one of PHMSA's top priorities," PHMSA Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez. "These train-the-trainer grants are a force multiplier in getting more local first responders and employees prepared for when hazmat transportation incidents happen."

For the FY 2016 SPST grant cycle, one national nonprofit fire service organization, the International Association of Fire Fighters was awarded a grant of $932,000.

Grants from PHMSA are funded by annual user registration fees paid by shippers and carriers of certain hazardous materials in commerce.

For further information, go to: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/grants-program.

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 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.

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