EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfield sites. 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. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, 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.
$460,000
EPA has selected Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct six Phase I and nine Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to develop three cleanup plans, develop a brownfield site inventory, and support community outreach activities. The target areas for this grant will be entrances to small farming and ranching communities and flood-prone properties along the Yellowstone River and its tributaries in Stillwater, Carbon, and Big Horn Counties, and the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations. Priority sites include a former service station that was later converted into a bed and breakfast that was damaged by flooding, a tire shop that was destroyed by a fire, and a former bar and casino.