Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet Missoula, MT



s OA Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
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/ Missoula, MT
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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. 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
EPA selected the City of Missoula for a Brownfields
Pilot. Like many other communities throughout the
northwest, Missoula's economy historically relied on the
timber and mining industries. During the 1950s and
1960s, Missoula enjoyed great economic success. Within
the last 20 years, however, the decline of the timber
industry has resulted in massive job dislocation and
abandonment of the city's timber processing facilities.
Missoula's economy remains weak by national standards,
and the city's poverty and unemployment rates are
consistently higher than the national average.
The largest city (population 51,200) in Montana's Rocky
Mountains, Missoula is entirely surrounded by
mountainous terrain. The city's lack of available flat land
has further impeded urban growth. The city's population
increased nearly 20 percent from 1990 to 1996, and
demands for land continue to increase. By focusing on
its brownfields, Missoula hopes to return idle properties
to productive use and promote economic recovery for the
city. The Pilot plans to develop and implement strategies
that will lead to the cleanup and redevelopment of a
large, abandoned mill site [the Missoula Sawmill
(formerly Champion Mill)] and a neighborhood area
adjacent to another abandoned mill. Both sites together
total more than 100 acres.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 09/01/1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets two abandoned industrial
facilities surrounded by single-family homes in an
Urban Enterprise Zone of the city.
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: City of Missoula,MT
(406)523-4935
Objectives
To foster redevelopment, Missoula will build on
existing growth management strategies, economic
development plans, and other community-wide policies
and initiatives. The processes used to return the two
targeted sites to productive use will serve as models for
the redevelopment of other city brownfields. The Pilot
activities will address both the real and perceived
environmental issues associated with each of the
targeted sites through assessment and outreach. The
Pilot will also help reduce any environmental heath
threats posed by the two targeted brownfields.
Activities
The Pilot has:
•	Completed the major portions of Phase I and
Phase II site assessment activities for the
residential area adjoining the White Pine Sash
site, and completed a final Phase II report; and
•	Completed the major portions of Phase I and
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-01-044
Jun 01

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The neighborhood area, which is adjacent to the state
Superfund White Pine Sash site, is on the north side of
town. The Missoula Sawmill site is located along the
south shore of the Clark Fork River. The threat of real
and perceived contamination at these sites has affected
adjacent neighborhoods, resulting in rapid residential
turnover rates and low levels of property investment.
Phase II site assessment activities for the
Missoula Sawmill site, and is preparing a draft
Phase II report.
The Pilot is:
•	Working in coordination with the neighborhoods
and the city planning department to develop a
master plan that will include mixed-use
redevelopment of commercial and park areas for
the Missoula Sawmill site;
•	Working with the owners of the White Pine Sash
site to develop an on-site redevelopment plan
that will meet neighborhood objectives that are
already established for the Northside/Westside
Neighborhood Plan;
•	Using meetings, newsletters, and outreach
materials to improve the effectiveness of the
Stakeholder Working Group, which is working to
develop public and private brownfields cleanup
partnerships in the Pilot area; and
•	Continuing community participation to ensure
that low-income residents living adjacent to the
two brownfields are fully informed and actively
participating in the decision-making process for
the targeted sites.
•	Using meetings, newsletters, and outreach
materials to improve the effectiveness of the
Stakeholder Working Group, which is working to
develop public and private brownfields cleanup
partnerships in the Pilot area; and
•	Continuing community participation to ensure
that low-income residents living adjacent to the
two brownfields are fully informed and actively
participating in the decision-making process for
the targeted sites.
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	c
Environmental	anH Fmempn™	EPA 500-F-01-044
_ . .	and Emergency	. _.
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	Jun 01
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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