Contacts:  

U.S. EPA: Richard Mylott, 720-237-8119, mylott.richard@epa.gov 

Missoula County: Allison Franz, 406-258-3161, afranz@missoulacounty.us

Missoula, Mont. (May 12, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing Missoula County, Montana, will receive a $500,000 Brownfields grant to complete environmental assessments, cleanup plans, and reuse plans in the communities of East Missoula, Bonner, West Riverside, Milltown and Piltzville. 

Missoula County will use the EPA grant funds to conduct 18 environmental site assessments and develop additional cleanup and reuse plans in areas that are priorities for redevelopment in East Missoula, Bonner, West Riverside, Milltown, and Piltzville. These site assessments will examine current and historical uses of properties, and sample soil, water, air and building materials, to evaluate potential contamination, determine cleanup options, and initiate reuse planning. Targeted sites include the East Missoula Town center complex, which includes former fueling stations, a truck repair facility, and a junk vehicles yard; a former school building; a 108-acre former sawmill and industrial landfill; an 86-acre former gravel mine complex; and the Fort Missoula/Target Range.  

“EPA is proud to support Missoula County as they work to assess, clean up and revitalize targeted properties,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “These projects will improve community health and create new opportunities and assets in the places that need them most.” 

“When industries change and communities develop, Montana’s towns and cities are often left to foot the bill on cleanup efforts,” said Senator Jon Tester. “My bipartisan infrastructure law will help to change that by reinvesting in the communities that have been most affected by leftover contamination and pollution. By working across the aisle with five Republicans and four other Democrats, we were able to secure critical funding to repurpose old or abandoned properties in the Treasure State and create good paying Montana jobs in the process.” 

“Missoula County is delighted to learn of this award,” said Sindie Kennedy, Missoula County Brownfields Manager. “This grant will allow the existing brownfields program to grow and further enhance housing affordability, recreational access and business opportunity through redevelopment of underused and languishing properties in the county. So far, the Missoula County brownfields program has leveraged over $40 million in non-brownfields funding to support redevelopment. This new award will result in a significant increase in redevelopment investment. We are extremely grateful to the EPA for this opportunity.”   

The Brownfields Program advances President Biden’s Justive40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40 percent of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 86 percent of the communities selected to receive funding as part of this announcement have proposed projects in historically underserved areas. EPA’s Brownfields grants and other technical assistance programs like the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative are also helping to build the clean energy economy. 

Today’s announcement includes approximately $180 million from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help turn brownfield sites across the nation into hubs of economic growth and job creation, along with more than $75 million from fiscal year 2022 appropriations.   

The funding includes: 

• $112.8 million for 183 selectees for Assessment Grants, which will provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach. 
• $18.2 million for 36 selectees for Cleanup Grants, which will provide funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the recipient. 
• $16.3 million for 17 selectees for Revolving Loan Fund grants that will provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. 
• $107 million for 39 high-performing Revolving Loan Fund Grant recipients to help communities continue their work to carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects on contaminated brownfield properties. Supplemental funding for Revolving Loan Fund Grants is available to recipients that have depleted their funds and have viable cleanup projects ready for work.  

The list of selected applicants is available here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy-2022-brownfields-assessment-rlf-cleanup-arc-grants-and-rlf 

Since its inception in 1995, EPA’s investments in brownfield sites have leveraged more than $35 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. This has led to significant benefits for communities across the country. For example: 

• To date, this funding has led to more than 183,000 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment and more than 9,500 properties have been made ready for reuse.  
• Based on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged on average $20.43 for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements. 
• In addition, an academic peer-reviewed study has found that residential properties near brownfield sites increased in value by 5% to 15% as a result of cleanup activities. 
• Finally, analyzing data near 48 brownfields, EPA found an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue for local governments in a single year after cleanup—2 to 7 times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfield sites. 

Additional Background 

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Redevelopment made possible through the program includes everything from grocery stores and affordable housing to health centers, museums, greenways, and solar farms.     

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 16-19, 2022 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).