MSHA Awards $8.4M in State Grants in 47 States

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has awarded $8,441,000 in grant funding to 47 states and the Navajo Nation to reduce mining accidents, injuries and illnesses by supporting safety and health training courses and other programs.

Grantees will use the funds to provide miners with federally mandated training. The grants 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.

Grants were awarded in fiscal year 2015 based on applications from states, and they are administered by state mine inspectors’ offices, state departments of labor, and state-supported colleges and universities. Each recipient tailors the program to the needs of its mines and miners – including mining conditions and hazards miners may encounter – and provides technical assistance.

“Training of our nation’s miners is critical to miners’ safety and health, and thousands of miners receive training through these state grants,” 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’s grants programs have 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 Mine Act functions.

Grants went to:

Alabama

Bevill State Community College

Alaska

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Arizona

Arizona State Mine Inspector

Arkansas

Arkansas Department of Labor

California

California Department of Industrial Relations

Colorado

Colorado Department of Natural Resources

Connecticut

Central Connecticut State University

Florida

Tallahassee Community College

Georgia

Technical College System of Georgia

Idaho

North Idaho College

Illinois

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Indiana

Vincennes University

Iowa

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges

Kansas

Hutchinson Community College

Kentucky

Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet

Louisiana

Northshore Technical Community College

Maine

Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards

Maryland

Maryland Department of the Environment

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards

Michigan

Michigan Technological University

Minnesota

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities

Mississippi

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

Missouri

Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations

Montana

Montana Department of Labor & Industry

Navajo Nation

Minerals Department

Nebraska

Board of Regents, University of Nebraska

Nevada

Nevada Department of Business and Industry

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development

New Jersey

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development

New Mexico

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

New York

New York State Department of Labor

North Carolina

North Carolina Department of Labor

North Dakota

North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education

Ohio

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Department of Mines

Oregon

Eastern Oregon University

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Bureau of Mine Safety

South Carolina

South Carolina State Board for Technical & Comprehensive Education

South Dakota

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Tennessee

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Texas

University of Texas at Austin

Utah

Utah State University Eastern

Vermont

Vermont Department of Labor

Virginia

Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy

Washington

Eastern Washington University

West Virginia

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services

Wyoming

Northern Wyoming Community College District

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