ARLINGTON, Va. – Forty-seven states and the Navajo Nation will receive a total of $8,441,000 in funds to support safety and health training courses and other programs to reduce mining accidents, injuries and illnesses, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today.
Grant recipients will use the funds to provide miners with federally mandated training. The awards cover training and retraining of miners working at surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines, including miners engaged in shell dredging or employed at surface stone, sand and gravel mining operations.
MSHA awarded these fiscal year 2016 grants based on applications from states and other eligible entities. State mine inspectors’ offices, state departments of labor, and state-supported colleges and universities administer the grants. Each recipient tailors its program to the needs of its mines and miners – including mining conditions and hazards miners may encounter – and provides technical assistance.
“This funding will enable educational, governmental and industry organizations across the country to develop training resources and train miners in an effort to ensure they return home – safe and healthy – after every shift,” said Joseph A. Main , assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
Authorized by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 , the state grants program has received funds to provide safety and health training to miners since 1971.
In addition to safety and health training, some states use these grants to support their mine emergency response efforts and other statutory functions.
Editor’s note: A list of grantees follows this release.
State Grantee City Amount Alabama Bevill State Community College Sumiton $199,932 Alaska University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks $95,650 Arizona Arizona State Mine Inspector Phoenix $293,879 Arkansas Arkansas Department of Labor Little Rock $105,621 California California Department of Industrial Relations Chico $287,950 Colorado Colorado Department of Natural Resources Denver $206,603 Connecticut Central Connecticut State University New Britain $57,467 Florida Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee $127,069 Georgia Technical College System of Georgia Atlanta $153,671 Idaho North Idaho College Post Falls $108,845 Illinois Illinois Department of Natural Resources Springfield $210,021 Indiana Vincennes University Vincennes $201,931 Iowa Eastern Iowa Community Colleges Davenport $146,957 Kansas Hutchinson Community College Hutchinson $92,956 Kentucky Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Frankfort $508,207 Louisiana Northshore Technical Community College Greensburg $82,629 Maine Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards Augusta $80,285 Maryland Maryland Department of the Environment La Plata $53,884 Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards Boston $68,649 Michigan Michigan Technological University Houghton $196,142 Minnesota Minnesota State Colleges and Universities St. Paul $289,468 Mississippi Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Jackson $46,426 Missouri Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Jefferson City $203,446 Montana Montana Department of Labor and Industry Helena $150,000 Navajo Nation Minerals Department Window Rock $25,000 Nebraska Board of Regents, University of Nebraska Kearney $67,580 Nevada Nevada Department of Business and Industry Carson City $278,998 New Hampshire New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development Concord $49,875 New Jersey New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Trenton $42,905 New Mexico New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro $153,084 New York New York State Department of Labor Albany $250,993 North Carolina North Carolina Department of Labor Raleigh $139,849 North Dakota North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education Bismarck $98,272 Ohio Ohio Department of Natural Resources Columbus $229,415 Oklahoma Oklahoma Department of Mines Oklahoma City $123,977 Oregon Eastern Oregon University La Grande $110,616 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Bureau of Mine Safety Uniontown $528,394 South Carolina South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education Columbia $57,207 South Dakota South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City $69,765 Tennessee Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Nashville $148,474 Texas University of Texas at Austin Austin $466,821 Utah Utah State University Eastern Price $181,777 Vermont Vermont Department of Labor Montpelier $75,279 Virginia Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy Big Stone Gap $227,574 Washington Eastern Washington University Cheney $133,536 West Virginia West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training Charleston $524,378 Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Madison $251,295 Wyoming Northern Wyoming Community College District Gillette $238,248 Total = $8,441,000.00
