Brownfields  2011  Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Great Northern Development Corporation, Eastern Montana
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. Under this 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 programs through
a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Great Northern Development Corporation was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition
grant. The Corporation's coalition partners are the
Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation,
Inc., Southeastern Montana Development Corporation,
Fort Peck Tribal Office of Environmental Protection,
and North Cheyenne Tribe. The Corporation serves 15
counties (combined population 64,120) in  eastern
Montana. For many years, land use in the region has
been dominated by farming and ranching, oil and gas
development, and the railroad industry. The region
contains hundreds of leaking underground storage
tanks, and abandoned properties are common in rural
and small metropolitan communities. These
brownfields have highly visible locations and
discourage tourism and private investment. Over the
past decade, the region has seen a decline in
employment and a shrinking tax base. The region has
lost five percent of its residents during the  past several
years and currently has a higher poverty rate than the
rest of the state. Brownfield assessments will help the
Corporation identify the extent of contamination at sites
and meet the goals of its Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy.
                   Assessment Grant

                   $500,000 for hazardous substances
                   $250,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected the Great Northern Development
                   Corporation for a brownfields assessment coalition
                   grant. Community-wide hazardous substances grant
                   funds will be used to conduct 12 Phase I and eight
                   Phase II environmental site assessments. Petroleum
                   grant funds will be used to identify high-priority sites
                   and conduct six Phase I and five Phase II
                   environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
                   will be used to conduct cleanup planning and
                   community 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
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 8 Brownfields Team
                   (303)312-7074
                   EPA Region 8 Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/region8/brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: Great Northern Development
                   Corporation,MT
                   (406) 653-2590

                   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 negotiated.
                   Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
                   subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-128-111
         May 11

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