Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT)

Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training Grant (ALERT): to promote hazmat response training for volunteer or remote emergency responders to respond to incidents or accidents involving the transportation of crude oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids by rail. This Assistance Listing 20.709 created in July 2025 was included in the previous ALN 20.703, please refer to former ALN 20.703 for FY24 and FY25 financial obligations. The new Assistance Listing 20.709 will be utilized by DOT at the start of FY 2026.

PHMSA will review applications based upon merit, including the clarity of the project narrative and reasonableness of cost as described in the budget narrative. PHMSA reserves the right to make adjustments that are beneficial to the goals of the ALERT Grant program. PHMSA Federal agency representatives will evaluate the grant applications. Each grant application will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria listed below. Special emphasis will be placed on reviewing whether or not the application has a coherent project narrative that follows the outline of this funding announcement, and whether or not the costs described in the budget narrative appear to be necessary, reasonable, allowable and allocable. Applications will be evaluated as exceptional, acceptable, or unacceptable.

Match: none required (federal program listing). This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details.

Fiscal year 2025: Rail Car Incident Training, Response for Crude, Ethanol, and other flammable liquids training, and Railroad Emergency Response Training.