United States
                   Environmental
                   Protection Agency
                   Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5101)
 EPA 500-F-00-088
 May 2000
 www.epa.gov/brownfields/
                   Brownfields Assessment
                   Demonstration  Pilot
                                                 Crow Nation,  Montana
 Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
                   Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields  Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup,  and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the Crow Nation for a Brownfields
Pilot.  The Crow Indian Reservation is located in
southcentral  Montana  and  includes  portions of
Yellowstone and Big Horn counties. The reservation
proper, which includes  3,521 square miles, has a
distinct rural character and is home to several small
communities, including  Crow Agency, Garryowen,
Lodge Grass, Wyola, Fort Smith, St. Xavier, and
Pryor. Population on the reservation is estimated at
10,000 (approximately 8,000 tribal members and 2,000
non-tribal members), and unemployment on the
reservation is estimated at 70 percent in the summer
months and 80 percent in the winter months.

The Big Horn Carpet Mill Redevelopment Initiative—
the focus of the Crow Nation Pilot—is located wholly
on tribally owned trustlands, located in Crow Agency.
The Big Horn Carpet Mill commenced production in
April 1968.  Known contaminants used at the site
included chemical dyes, glues, and mixtures of
chemicals used to manufacture and treat carpets, as
well as cleaning solvents for the machinery in the
factory.  Additionally, there may have been other
chemicals used at the site that may presently pose
health threats. Since the site was abandoned in 1974,
PILOT SNAPSHOT
                     Date of Announcement:
                     May 2000

                     Amount: $200,000

                     Profile:  The Crow Nation
                     targets the Big Horn Carpet
                     Mill in Crow Agency for site
                     assessment, cleanup, and
                     redevelopment.
CrowNation, Montana
Contacts:
Crow Agency
Natural Resources
(406)638-2601
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(406)457-5018
     Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields web site at:
 http://www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/bfhome/bfhome.html

   For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
 additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
 publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
         http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/


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it has been a nuisance and a threat to public health.
There  are no  fences surrounding  the  immediate
property, allowing children to play unsupervised in
and around the building.

OBJECTIVES

The Crow Nation' s goal is to conduct investigations
and sites assessments to determine the composition
of the  contaminants on the targeted property and
the extent of their migration into the surrounding
soil and groundwater. This will allow the Nation to
develop plans for converting the property into a
productive community-based facility that would
house the Crow Vocational Technical Center and
the  Crow Arts  and Crafts Heritage Center,
furthering education  and arts and crafts  and
minimizing unemployment on the reservation.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting Phase I and II assessments in order
 to identify all hazardous substances in the soil,
 surface water, and groundwater at the Big Horn
 Carpet Mill;

• Assessing human health and environmental risks;

• Soliciting community input and support;

• Conducting public awareness/outreach activities;

• Developing an effective, affordable, and sustainable
 long-term remedial design, including establishing
 culturally appropriate plans for redevelopment and
 reuse of the Big Horn Carpet Mill  property;

• Identifying potential funding sources; and

• Developing estimates for cleanup costs for the Big
 Horn Carpet Mill property.

The cooperative agreementforthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot                                            Crow Nation, Montana
 May2000                                                                        EPA 500-F-00-088

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