EPA Press Office:

EPA awards $1M to clean up and revitalize properties in downtown Billings, Montana 

Big Sky Economic Development Authority to use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to address contamination, advance new development

Contacts:  

U.S. EPA: Richard Mylott, mylott.richard@epa.gov  

Big Sky Economic Development Authority: Thom McLean, thom@bigskyeda.com, 406-869-8407  

 

Billings, Mont. (May 25, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the Big Sky Economic Development Authority will receive a $1 million Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to conduct cleanup and revitalization at several properties in downtown Billings, Montana. Targeted properties include an aging industrial area characterized by rail distribution facilities, building supply companies and automotive service centers.   

“This EPA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding is supporting critical cleanup projects that will address known health concerns and revive historic locations in the City of Billings’ Downtown Core,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “We look forward to seeing these efforts transform blighted properties into new community assets.”  

“As a third-generation farmer, I understand the challenges rural America is facing, including the lasting impacts of toxic waste,” said U.S. Senator Jon Tester. “Cleaning up and revitalizing Montana’s remaining Brownfield sites breathes new life into our communities by creating some real opportunities for economic development. That’s why I am proud to have secured this funding in my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for cleanup projects across Big Sky Country to spur economic growth and improve the quality of life for folks from Glendive to Kalispell.” 

EPA’s award to Big Sky Economic Development is among six grants announced today totaling more than $5.7 million for cleanup and revitalization projects in communities across Montana. These funds are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites while advancing environmental justice through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this funding is the largest ever awarded by the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.  

“Outstanding! This will be a tremendous tool to support the community’s redevelopment goals,” said Steve Arveschoug, Executive Director, Big Sky Economic Development. “The Big Sky Economic Development team has had successful experience providing Brownfields assessments for development projects, now totaling over $1.5 million. This new loan program allows us to move these assessments to cleanup projects that facilitate new private investment in the heart of our community.”  

Big Sky Economic Redevelopment will use the EPA funds to address several priority sites for cleanup, including historic buildings in downtown Billings and former industrial locations with potential for renovation into affordable housing, commercial space and recreational uses. These sites include the 1.3-acre Stockton Oil Company property, a former 28,000-square-foot Masonic Temple, the former City Hall, the 92,000-square-foot Billings Gazette building and the 75-acre coal-fired Corette Power Plant, which was decommissioned in 2015. Contaminants of concern at these properties include petroleum compounds, asbestos, lead-based paints, fly ash waste and metals.   

Reuse plans for these properties include opportunities for the creation of new businesses, jobs and greenspace. The Masonic Temple, City Hall and the Billings Gazette building are located within two blocks of each other in the historic downtown center. These iconic buildings have generated strong community interest in their reuse, with significant potential as affordable, high-density housing with ground-level retail and office space. These three properties represent a unique opportunity to create a connected, walkable community with housing, commerce, entertainment and job opportunities. In addition, the former Stockton Oil Company Property offers a prime opportunity for mixed-use industrial and commercial redevelopment due to its central location.  

The cleanup of the 75-acre Corette Power Plant property on the western bank of the Yellowstone River offers an opportunity to transform the large site into greenspace and a community park, linking downtown to the riverfront and providing community gathering and recreational opportunities for the Billings community.   

Other Brownfields grants announced today in Montana include:  

• Sweet Grass Development Corporation, north-central Montana: $1 million 

• Montana West Economic Development Foundation Inc., Flathead County: $500,000  

• Great Falls Development Authority, Inc:  $500,00  

• Great Northern Development Corporation, Glendive: $2,250,00  

• Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development Area, Stillwater, Carbon and Big Horn Counties and the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations: $460,000  

Background  

Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever begin to address the economic, social and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.  

EPA’s Brownfields Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to direct 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 84% of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities. 

EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfield sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar. 

More on Brownfields Grants.   

More on EPA’s Brownfields Program.