Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Great Northern Development Corporation, Inc., Northeast Montana

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$100,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Great Northern Development Corporation, Inc., to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct two Phase I site assessments and one Phase II site assessment. Funds also will be used for site-specific planning and community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Great Northern Development Corporation, Inc. (GNDC), was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. GNDC serves a six-county area covering 17,477 square miles in the northeastern corner of Montana. The population in the six counties has been declining as industry and young people leave the region, and is now 27,673. Of those residents, 24 percent are American Indian, and the target area includes the entire Fort Peck Sioux and Assiniboine Indian Reservation. The region's loss of industry has increased the number of people living in poverty, with poverty levels ranging from 9.5 percent in Valley County to 30.1 percent on the Fort Peck Reservation. The per capita income in the area is below the state and national averages. A recent inventory identified 72 petroleum release sites within the six-county area, many of which are abandoned. GNDC plans to complete a Regional Brownfields Plan to guide its brownfields efforts. Regional brownfields redevelopment will remove eyesores, spur development, and address health and safety issues.

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: Great Northern Development Corporation, Inc., MT
406-653-2590

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.