MSHA announces $8.3M in state grant funding

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will allocate $8,348,423 in health and safety training grants for 46 states and the Navajo Nation in fiscal year 2014.

Grantees will use the funds to provide federally mandated training to miners. 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 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 also provides technical assistance.

The state grants program was authorized by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. States first received funding to provide health and safety training to miners in 1971.

"These state grants support the safety and health mission contained in the Mine Act," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "These federal funds will enable miners to better prepare for the task at hand and arm them with the proper knowledge to avoid accidents and injuries."

In addition to health and safety training, some states use these grants to support their mine emergency response efforts and other Mine Act functions.

MSHA FY 2014 State Grant Awards

State	Grantee	City	Amount
Ala.	Bevill State Community College	Sumiton	$199,499
Alaska	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks	$51,092
Ariz.	Arizona State Mine Inspector	Phoenix	$287,287
Ark.	Arkansas Department of Labor	Little Rock	$99,335
Calif.	California Department of Industrial Relations	Chico	$338,619
Colo.	Colorado Department of Natural Resources	Denver	$210,406
Conn.	Central Connecticut State University	New Britain	$54,094
Fla.	Tallahassee Community College	Tallahassee	$171,509
Ga.	Technical College System of Georgia	Atlanta	$192,841
Ill.	Illinois Department of Natural Resources	Springfield	$219,948
Ind.	Vincennes University	Vincennes	$191,632
Iowa	Eastern Iowa Community Colleges	Davenport	$115,553
Kan.	Hutchinson Community College	Hutchinson	$83,067
Ky.	Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet	Frankfort	$627,659
La.	Northshore Technical Community College	Greensburg	$81,643
Maine	Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards	Augusta	$55,719
Md.	Maryland Department of the Environment	La Plata	$57,843
Mass.	Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards	Boston	$65,651
Mich.	Michigan Technological University	Houghton	$215,470
Minn.	Minnesota State Colleges & Universities	St. Paul	$273,858
Miss.	Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality	Jackson	$60,910
Mo.	Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations	Jefferson City	$206,947
Mont.	Montana Department of Labor & Industry	Helena	$137,460
Navajo Nation	Minerals Department	Window Rock	$26,839
Neb.	Board of Regents, University of Nebraska	Kearney	$66,623
Nev.	Nevada Department of Business and Industry	Carson City	$235,157
N.H.	New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development	Concord	$40,683
N.J.	New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development	Trenton	$49,957
N.M.	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Socorro	$147,305
N.Y.	New York State Department of Labor	Albany	$258,884
N.C.	North Carolina Department of Labor	Raleigh	$153,133
N.D.	North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education	Bismarck	$58,544
Ohio	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	Columbus	$262,862
Okla.	Oklahoma Department of Mines	Oklahoma City	$107,800
Ore.	Eastern Oregon University	La Grande	$105,729
Pa.	Pennsylvania Bureau of Mine Safety	Uniontown	$533,392
S.C.	South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education	Columbia	$65,831
S.D.	South Dakota School of Mines & Technology	Rapid City	$59,313
Tenn.	Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development	Nashville	$139,864
Texas	University of Texas at Austin	Austin	$429,723
Utah	Utah State University Eastern	Price	$172,025
Vt.	Vermont Department of Labor	Montpelier	$70,482
Va.	Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy	Big Stone Gap	$268,849
Wash.	Eastern Washington University	Cheney	$148,423
W.Va.	West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training	Charleston	$563,256
Wis.	Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services	Madison	$192,249
Wyo.	Northern Wyoming Community College District	Gillette	$193,457
Total = $8,348,423