West Virginia to receive over $550,000 in training grants for miners

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The State of West Virginia will be receiving $554,548 from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration for miner health and safety training programs, it was announced today.

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.

“Having supped at a coal miner's table, and married a coal miner's daughter, I have always considered coal miners to be family. We must never let up in our efforts to ensure their health and safety,” said U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., who as the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has been a major advocate for increasing funding to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration over the years.

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