I 'O UJ O Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc., South Central Montana EPA Brownfields Program EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu- nities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, the President signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response pro- grams through a separate mechanism. Community Description Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Approximately 163,379 residents live in the five-county region, 13,433 of whom are Native Americans belonging to the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Tribes. The primary industries in the region are dryland and irrigated farming, livestock production, recreation, and mining. The poverty rate in the five-county area has improved in recent years, but remains high. It ranges from 6.2 percent in Stillwater County to 23.7 percent in Big Horn County. The area's median household income is just under 74 percent of Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to perform Phase I and Phase II site assessments at three potentially contaminated sites in Billings and Hardin in south central Montana. Funding will also be used to survey the five-county area served by Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc. (Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, and Yellowstone Counties) for potential candidates for later assessments, and for commu- nity outreach activities. Contacts For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/ brownfields. EPA Region 8 Brownfields Team 303-312-6803 http://www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/bfhome/ bfhome.html Grant Recipient: Beartooth RC&D Area, Inc., MT 406-962-3914 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. the national average, and unemployment rates range from 2.2 percent in Sweet Grass County to 11.6 percent in Big Horn County. The assessment and eventual cleanup and redevelopment of area brownfields will directly improve the health and economic stability of these communities by providing more jobs, increasing the tax base, providing greenspace, and stimulating economic activity. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-04-026 June 2004 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |