MSHA awards $8.4M in state grants in 47 states

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration 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.

Editor's note: A list of grantees follows this release.

MSHA FY 2015 State Grant Awards