Michael S. Regan 16th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency | Official Website
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $1 million in Brownfields grant funding to support the environmental assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of critical properties in communities across northern Montana. The EPA awards are being provided to two grantees: The Bear Paw Development Corporation and the Sweetgrass Development Corporation, each receiving $500,000.
The Bear Paw Development Corporation will use its share of the EPA Brownfields funding for high-priority projects in Havre and Box Elder, Montana. “This significant investment in Bear Paw Development’s Brownfields Program will assure the good work of assessing contaminated properties in northern Montana, with the goal of cleaning them up and having them once again become productive and useful," said Paul Tuss, Executive Director of the Bear Paw Development Corporation.
Key properties in Havre include the Bullhook Community Health Center and the Havre Senior Center. The former Box Elder Landfill is also identified as a priority site for potential redevelopment into a solar farm that would help reduce energy costs to residents in Box Elder and the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
The Sweetgrass Development Corporation, in partnership with the North Central Montana Economic Development District (NCMEDD), will use its share of the EPA Brownfields grant funding to assess five priority sites located in Browning, Sunburst, and East Glacier Park, Montana.
“The Board of Directors and staff of NCMEDD are very excited to move forward with the Brownfields Assessment grant award of $500,000," said Sarah Converse, Executive Director of the Sweetgrass Development Corporation. Priority sites include Coop’s Corner Conoco in Browning, Montana; Sunburst Car Wash and Suta North in Sunburst; and Glacier Village Restaurant in Glacier Park Village.
These investments are part of the agency’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs. “EPA’s Brownfields grants are helping rural Montana communities expand and revitalize blighted and underused properties,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker.
Senator Jon Tester added, “This funding is a big opportunity to boost economic development and improve quality of life. I’m proud to have secured this funding through my bipartisan infrastructure law, and I will keep pushing for more cleanup projects across our state.”
The EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse.
