(AGENPARL) – gio 25 maggio 2023 Issued: May 25, 2023 (1:35pm EDT)
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EPA awards $1M to clean up and revitalize properties in downtown Billings,
Montana?
Big Sky Economic Development Authority to use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
funding to address contamination, advance new development
Contacts:? 
406-869-8407? 
Billings, Mont. (May 25, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) today announced the Big Sky Economic Development Authority will receive
a $1 million Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant, funded by the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to conduct cleanup and revitalization at
several properties in downtown Billings, Montana. Targeted properties include
an aging industrial area characterized by rail distribution facilities,
building supply companies and automotive service centers.?  
“This EPA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding is supporting critical
cleanup projects that will address known health concerns and revive historic
locations in the City of Billings’ Downtown Core,” said EPA Regional
Administrator KC Becker. “We look forward to seeing these efforts transform
blighted properties into new community assets.”? 
“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 Big Sky Economic 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.? 
“Outstanding! This will be a tremendous tool to support the community’s
redevelopment goals,” said Steve Arveschoug, Executive Director, Big Sky
Economic Development. “The Big Sky Economic Development team has had
successful experience providing Brownfields assessments for development
projects, now totaling over $1.5 million. This new loan program allows us to
move these assessments to cleanup projects that facilitate new private
investment in the heart of our community.”? 
Big Sky Economic Redevelopment will use the EPA funds to address several
priority sites for cleanup, including historic buildings in downtown Billings
and former industrial locations with potential for renovation into affordable
housing, commercial space and recreational uses. These sites include the
1.3-acre Stockton Oil Company property, a former 28,000-square-foot Masonic
Temple, the former City Hall, the 92,000-square-foot Billings Gazette building
and the 75-acre coal-fired Corette Power Plant, which was decommissioned in
2015. Contaminants of concern at these properties include petroleum compounds,
asbestos, lead-based paints, fly ash waste and metals.?? 
Reuse plans for these properties include opportunities for the creation of new
businesses, jobs and greenspace. The Masonic Temple, City Hall and the
Billings Gazette building are located within two blocks of each other in the
historic downtown center. These iconic buildings have generated strong
community interest in their reuse, with significant potential as affordable,
high-density housing with ground-level retail and office space. These three
properties represent a unique opportunity to create a connected, walkable
community with housing, commerce, entertainment and job opportunities. In
addition, the former Stockton Oil Company Property offers a prime opportunity
for mixed-use industrial and commercial redevelopment due to its central
location.? 
The cleanup of the 75-acre Corette Power Plant property on the western bank of
the Yellowstone River offers an opportunity to transform the large site into
greenspace and a community park, linking downtown to the riverfront and
providing community gathering and recreational opportunities for the Billings
community.?? 
Other Brownfields grants announced today in Montana include:? 
Sweet Grass Development Corporation, north-central Montana: $1 million 
Montana West Economic Development Foundation Inc., Flathead County:
$500,000? 
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc:  $500,00? 
Great Northern Development Corporation, Glendive: $2,250,00? 
Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development Area, 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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