(AGENPARL) – gio 25 maggio 2023 Issued: May 25, 2023 (2:18pm EDT)
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EPA awards $1M for the cleanup and revitalization of properties in Cut Bank,
Sunburst and northern Montana communities?
Sweetgrass Development Corporation to use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds
to redevelop sites in Glacier and Toole County
Contacts? 
Sweetgrass Development Corporation: Carrie Taylor, 406-599-2974,
Cut Bank, Mont. (May 25, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) today announced the Sweetgrass Development Corporation will receive a $1
million Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grant funded by the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law.  
Sweetgrass Development will use the EPA?grant to clean up and advance
redevelopment opportunities at several contaminated sites in Glacier and Toole
Counties. Priority sites include former fueling stations in the Town of
Sunburst, the vacant and dilapidated Cut Bank Mercantile property and the
32,000 square-foot former Glacier Motel in downtown Cut Bank.? 
“Sweetgrass Development continues to find opportunities to clean up and
revitalize properties in some of Montana’s most rural communities,” said
EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “We look forward to seeing these
projects contribute to new assets and businesses that will serve residents and
visitors to Cut Bank, Sunburst and communities across Glacier and Toole
Counties.”? 
“As a third-generation farmer, I understand the challenges rural America is
facing, including the lasting impacts of toxic waste,” said U.S. Senator Jon
Tester. “Cleaning up and revitalizing Montana’s remaining Brownfield sites
breathes new life into our communities by creating some real opportunities for
economic development. That’s why I am proud to have secured this funding in
my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for cleanup projects across Big Sky Country
to spur economic growth and improve the quality of life for folks from
Glendive to Kalispell.” 
EPA’s award to Sweetgrass Development is among six grants announced today
totaling more than $5.7 million for cleanup and revitalization projects in
communities across Montana.?These funds are part of President Biden’s
Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of
brownfield sites while advancing environmental justice through the
Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant
programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,
this funding is the largest ever awarded by the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant
programs.? 
“These funds will be of great use to our rural areas,” said Sarah
Converse, Executive Director of Sweetgrass Development. “Many of our
projects through our Brownfields Assessment Program are for redevelopment of
commercial and housing projects.?The monies used will be a vital key to
addressing the lack of housing and repurposing main street buildings,
increasing the livability and vitality of our smallest
communities.”??? 
Sweetgrass Development will use the EPA funds for projects at several
properties ready for cleanup, with contaminants of concern including asbestos,
lead and petroleum compounds. The Suta South site, located in Sunburst at the
I-15 exit, is a one-acre, three parcel property currently full of junk and
debris. The property’s history as a fueling station left petroleum-impacted
soils and benzene in groundwater. Redevelopment plans include a community
park, playground and traveler rest area.??? 
The nearby Suta North site, a two-acre vacant lot, is also an abandoned
fueling station contaminated with petroleum compounds. The cleanup of the site
will enable its safe redevelopment, including potential reuse as an electric
car charging station for travelers on I-15.? 
Sweetgrass Development has also identified two priority properties in Cut
Bank. The Cut Bank Mercantile is a vacant and dilapidated building where
cleanup will advance plans to redevelop the site into a park. In addition, the
vacant Glacier Motel, comprised of three buildings totaling 32,000 square
feet, contains asbestos and lead-based paint. Potential reuse for the site
includes renovation as a boutique hotel.? 
Other Brownfields grants announced in Montana today include:? 
Great Falls Development Authority: $500,000 
Montana West Economic Development Foundation, Inc, Kalispell, Flathead County:
$500,000? 
Big Sky Economic Development, Billings: $1 million 
Great Northern Development Corporation, Glendive: $2,250,000 
Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development, Stillwater, Carbon and Big
Horn Counties and the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations:
$460,000 
Background? 
Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities
than ever begin to address the economic, social and environmental challenges
caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity and environmental
revitalization in historically overburdened communities.  
EPA’s Brownfields Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40
Initiative to direct 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal
investments to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 84% of the MARC
program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas
that include historically underserved communities. 
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37
billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties
and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in
addressing brownfield sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup
and redevelopment. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants
used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and
successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of grant funds
spent and $19.78 for every dollar. 
More on Brownfields Grants.?? 
More on EPA’s Brownfields Program.? 
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