Mine Health and Safety Grants | MSHA 2019 1

Opportunity Information: Apply for MSHA 2019 1

The Mine Health and Safety Grants opportunity is a discretionary federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of Labor through the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). It is built around the Department of Labor's broader workforce vision of helping people gain and keep good, safe jobs, and it directly supports the strategic goal of promoting safe jobs and fair workplaces. In practical terms, the program is meant to reduce mining-related fatalities, injuries, and occupational diseases by strengthening the capacity of state and territorial partners to regulate mining and protect miners on the ground.

The legal authority for the program comes from Section 503 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Mine Act), Public Law 95-164, as amended (30 U.S.C. 953). Under this authority, the Secretary of Labor, acting through MSHA, can provide financial assistance to states and certain U.S. jurisdictions to support state mining safety and health efforts. The eligible jurisdictions are explicitly broad and include not only U.S. states, but also the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The central idea is cooperative federalism: MSHA sets national priorities and standards for mine safety and health while working in coordination with state-level systems that may have their own mining laws, enforcement mechanisms, and worker protection programs.

The program's funding is intended to help recipients in three main areas. First, it supports the development and enforcement of state mining laws and regulations, which can include building or improving state inspection programs, compliance initiatives, enforcement processes, and related administrative capacity. Second, it aims to strengthen state workers' compensation systems and mining occupational disease laws and programs, recognizing that mining presents long-term health risks (such as dust-related lung disease) as well as acute hazards, and that effective benefit and disease-recognition programs are part of a full safety-and-health framework. Third, it supports improvements in safety and health conditions in mines through stronger federal-state coordination and cooperation, which can include aligning initiatives, sharing best practices, training approaches, and helping ensure that miners receive consistent protections across jurisdictions.

For this specific announcement (Funding Opportunity Number MSHA 2019 1), MSHA anticipated making awards broadly across eligible jurisdictions, with an expected 56 awards. The notice lists an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that individual award amounts are not capped in the posting itself and may instead be determined by formula, program policy, appropriations constraints, and the number and scope of eligible applicants. The opportunity is categorized as an Education funding activity, reflecting the role that training, outreach, and capacity-building can play in preventing accidents and occupational illness, even when the broader program goals include enforcement support and systems improvement.

Congressional funding direction is clearly noted in the announcement. The Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2019 directed MSHA to award $10,537,000 for state assistance grants under this program, setting the total amount available for distribution across recipients. In other words, the purpose is not to create a new one-off safety initiative, but to provide targeted federal financial support that helps states and territories maintain or enhance the infrastructure needed to prevent mine deaths and injuries and to address mining-related occupational disease.

Key administrative details included in the posting are that the opportunity was created on December 13, 2018, with an original closing date of February 13, 2019. The funding instrument is a grant, and the eligible applicant types listed include state governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Overall, the program is designed to translate MSHA's prevention mission into practical, coordinated work at the state and territorial level, with the ultimate outcome of safer and healthier working conditions for miners nationwide.

• The Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mine Health and Safety Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 17.600.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 13, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 13, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 56 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for MSHA 2019 1

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: