U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will announce a historic $196 million in grants for 37 projects spread across 19 of the United States of America.

This new grant program helps improve public safety, protect public health, and reduce methane emissions from natural gas distribution pipes.

The Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization (NGDISM) grant program, established by President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides nearly $1 billion in funding over the course of five years to modernize municipally and community-owned natural gas distribution pipes, helping to keep communities across the country safe from pipeline leaks.

“This funding to modernize our gas pipelines will help protect residents from dangerous leaks, create good-paying jobs, and reduce methane emissions in communities across the nation, particularly in rural and underserved areas,” said Buttigieg.

These grants are projected to create hundreds of jobs in rural and urban communities around the U.S. Grant funding recipients will repair, replace, or rehabilitate nearly 270 miles of pipe, thereby reducing methane emissions by approximately 212 metric tons, annually.