Big Sky Times

Funding Comes From Senator’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that he secured $5.7 million in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant funding for six Montana projects to clean up brownfield pollution sites and spur economic development. The funding was delivered through the through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant program and Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grant program, which Tester secured as part of his bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and through his work to pass the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Appropriations Bill. Senator Tester was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to vote for either piece of legislation.

“As a third-generation farmer, I understand many of the challenges folks in rural America face, including the lasting impacts of toxic waste,” said 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’m 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 Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, Tribes and others to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties. A Brownfield is a property, whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Funding for Montana’s Brownfields projects will be delivered in the form of Assessment grants and Revolving Loan Funds.

Montana recipients include:

• $500K to clean up and revitalize properties in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish, Montana;
• $1M to clean up and revitalize properties in downtown Billings, Montana;
• $460K for cleanup and revitalization of properties in Stillwater, Carbon and Big Horn Counties and the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations;
• $2.25M for cleanup and revitalization of properties in Glendive, Wolf Point, Poplar, and other communities across eastern Montana;
• $500K for cleanup and revitalization of properties in Great Falls and Cascade County, Montana;
• $1M for the cleanup and revitalization of properties in Cut Bank and Sunburst.

Tester worked across the aisle for months to negotiate the IIJA with a group of five Republicans, four Democrats, and the White House. Tester’s law is projected to create more than 800,000 American jobs and lower costs for businesses by making targeted investments that will strengthen our nation without raising taxes on working families.

Tester secured significant wins for Montana in the legislation, including $2.82 billion for Montana’s roads, highways, and bridges; $2.5 billion to complete all authorized Indian water rights settlements; $1 billion to complete all authorized rural water projects through the Bureau of Reclamation; $65 billion to deploy broadband to areas across the country that lack internet access and additionally make online connectivity affordable; and $3.37 billion to reduce wildfire risk nationwide, among others. A full list of Montana provisions in Tester’s bipartisan infrastructure law can be found HERE.

Original source can be found here.