Brookwood Sago Grant

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This program provides funding for education and training programs to better identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines. The program uses grant funds to establish and implement education and training programs or to create training materials and programs. The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) requires the Secretary to give priority to mine safety demonstrations and pilot projects with broad applicability. The MINER Act also mandates that the Secretary emphasize programs and materials that target miners in smaller mines, including training mine operators and miners on MSHA standards, high-risk activities, and other identified safety priorities. MSHA priorities for the FY 2021 funding of the annual Brookwood-Sago Grants will focus on powered haulage (in particular, reducing vehicle-on-vehicle collisions, increasing seat belt use, and improving belt conveyor safety), improving safety among contractors, reducing electrocutions, improving training for new and inexperienced miners, mine emergency prevention and preparedness, falls from equipment, respiratory hazards, and other programs to prevent unsafe conditions in mines. MSHA expects Brookwood-Sago grantees to develop training materials or to develop and provide mine safety training or educational programs, recruit mine operators and miners for the training, and conduct and evaluate the training. MSHA will give special emphasis to programs and materials that target workers at smaller mines, including training miners and employers about new MSHA standards, high risk activities, or hazards identified by MSHA. MSHA expects Brookwood-Sago grantees to conduct follow-up evaluations with the people who received training in their programs to measure how the training promotes the Secretary’s strategic goal to “promote safe jobs and fair workplaces for all Americans” and MSHA’s goal to “prevent fatalities, disease, and injury from mining and secure safe and healthful working conditions for America’s miners.” Evaluations will focus on determining how effective the subject training was in either reducing hazards, improving skills for the selected training topics, or in improving the conditions in mines. Grantees must also cooperate fully with MSHA evaluators of their programs, which may include data collection or provision of training curricula, materials, or mechanisms.

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