Reprinted with permission from PHMSA FOCUS Winter 2008 Edition

Congresswoman Corrine Brown of the 3rd District of Florida announced November 10 that $774,750 in hazardous materials (hazmat) training funding for the state of Florida would be available for use by first responders. Flanked by fire fighters at the Jacksonville Fire Training Academy, Representative Brown, Chair of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, stated that these grants are of extreme importance, not only for the City of Jacksonville, but to cities nationwide.

Putting national focus on a local problem, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) advanced the Secretary of Transportation’s Rural Initiative in September with the issuance of grants totaling $21.1 million to states, territories and Native American tribes for planning and training to improve the nation’s response to both rural and urban hazmat transportation incidents. The grants will help train first responders to react to incidents involving hazmat and to meet the safety challenges posed by new chemicals and alternative energy products such as ethanol.

“This hazmat grants program enhances the foundation of local emergency response capabilities and serves a vital role in a comprehensive hazmat safety program,” PHMSA Administrator Carl T. Johnson said. “Although prevention is our first priority, preparing communities to respond safely and effectively to those incidents that do occur provides important protection to all Americans.”

The PHMSA grants are funded by user fees paid by shippers and carriers of certain hazardous materials.

Since 1993, over 2.2 million emergency responders and others have received training assistance nationwide using Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants.

According to United States Fire Administration (USFA) statistics, there are approximately 824,000 volunteer fire fighters, many of whom are rural hazmat responders. USFA estimates that as many as 80 percent of rural fire service hazmat responders are not trained to the minimum hazmat operations level.

In support of the Secretary’s Rural Initiative, the HMEP grants program will:

• Help re-establish Local Emergency Planning Committees in rural communities.
• Identify rural hazmat challenges:  PHMSA, working in partnership with the USFA and emergency response organizations, will help volunteer emergency responders plan and train for hazmat transportation incidents.
• Develop curriculum and technical assistance programs:  Working with other federal agencies, including the USFA National Fire Academy, PHMSA will help develop innovative new curricula and technical assistance programs that specifically target improving rural community hazmat planning and response capabilities.

All 50 states, three U.S. territories, and many North American tribes received funding this year.