Community Safety Grants – FY 2018 | HM CST 18 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for HM CST 18 001

The Community Safety Grants - FY 2018 opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number HM CST 18 001) is a discretionary federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) under its Hazmat Grants office. It was authorized by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Public Law 114-94, enacted December 4, 2015). The overall intent is to strengthen community readiness and improve regulatory enforcement capacity related to the transportation of hazardous materials, with a specific emphasis that includes Class 3 flammable liquids moved by rail.

At its core, the grant is designed to address two connected needs. First, it supports national outreach and training efforts that help communities prepare for and respond to transportation-related hazardous materials accidents and incidents. This includes improving awareness, planning, and response capabilities for scenarios involving hazardous materials releases or derailments. Second, it funds training for state and local personnel who are responsible for enforcing the Hazardous Materials Regulations, ensuring that frontline enforcement staff understand the rules and can apply them effectively in real-world inspection and compliance settings. Both focus areas explicitly include Class 3 flammable liquids, reflecting heightened attention to the risks associated with flammable liquid shipments.

This is a competitive grant opportunity, meaning applications are reviewed and selected based on merit rather than provided automatically by formula. The eligible applicant pool is listed broadly as "Others," with the narrative indicating that nonprofit organizations are the intended applicants for this competition. In practice, this positions nonprofits with national reach or specialized hazardous materials training and outreach experience as the primary targets for funding.

From a funding standpoint, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of up to $1,000,000 per award and anticipates making about four awards. The program is tied to the Transportation funding activity category and is associated with CFDA Number 20.703. The notice was created on May 22, 2018, with an original application closing date of June 22, 2018, giving applicants roughly a month to prepare and submit proposals.

In summary, PHMSA's Community Safety Grants - FY 2018 program is meant to build practical, on-the-ground capability: better-trained communities that can respond effectively to hazardous materials transportation incidents and better-trained state and local enforcement personnel who can uphold hazardous materials transportation safety requirements. The emphasis on outreach, training, and enforcement, along with the specific mention of Class 3 flammable liquids by rail, signals a clear priority on preventing incidents where possible and reducing harm when accidents occur.

• The Department of Transportation, PHMSA Hazmat Grants in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Safety Grants – FY 2018" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.703.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 22, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 22, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HM CST 18 001

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