5
              o
                          T>

  Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  Confederated  Salish

  and Kootenai  Tribes

       of  the  Flathead

     Nation,  Elmo,  MT


EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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, President George W. Bush 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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the
Flathead Nation were selected to receive a brownfields
cleanup grant. About 4,500 of the 6,999 members of
the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT)
reside on the rural Flathead Indian Reservation, just
south of Glacier National Park. With the recent decline
of the timber industry, the tribe has diversified and
now owns five independent enterprises. While tribal
members fill about 73 percent of jobs in these compa-
nies, unemployment on the reservation still exceeds 40
                                                        c
 Cleanup Grant
 $188,750 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the Confederated Salish and
 Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation for a
 brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
 used to clean up the Elmo Cash Store at 70770
 U.S. Highway 93 in Elmo on the Flathead Indian
 Reservation. Having been used as a gas station
 and general store since the 1920s, the site is now
 contaminated with co-mingled petroleum and
 heavy metals. Grant funds also will be used for
 public 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
 303-312-7074
 http://www. epa.gov/regionO 8/land_waste/bfhome/
 bfhome.html
 Grant Recipient: Confederated Salish and Kootenai
 Tribes of the Flathead Nation, MT
 406-883-2888
 The information presented in this fact sheet comes
 from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
 accuracy of this information. The cooperative
 agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
 ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
 sheet are subject to change.
percent. The poverty rate is 37 percent. CSKT has
identified 122 brownfields on the reservation, includ-
ing abandoned mine and mill sites. Contamination at
the Elmo Cash Store, which is vacant and blighted, has
reduced developer interest and prevented the construc-
tion of much-needed tribal housing or businesses.
Cleanup of the Elmo Cash Store will reduce exposure
from hazardous substances and remove barriers to
transforming the property into a tribal asset.
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-07-200
                       May 2007
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------