News Releases from Region 08
EPA provides $145K to the Cut Bank Area Chamber of Commerce to advance the cleanup and revitalization of the Public Drug Building
Funds part of $54 million to clean up and redevelop Brownfields sites across the country
(Denver, Colo. - May 28, 2015) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Cut Bank Area Chamber of Commerce $145K in Brownfields grant funding to clean up and redevelop the Public Drug Building on Main Street in Cut Bank, Montana. Today's announcement is among 243 EPA grant investments totaling $54.3 million to 147 communities across the U.S. These grants will provide communities with funding necessary to assess, clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.
The Cut Bank Area Chamber of Commerce will use the EPA Brownfields grant to remove hazardous building materials and redevelop the Public Drug Building, one of the original commercial buildings in the community's downtown area. Known contaminants in the building include asbestos and lead-based paints that pose a potential risk to building occupants. Once cleaned up, the Chamber will make this prime location and space available to prospective purchasers and tenants.
"EPA Brownfields grants open doors by helping communities like Cut Bank transform blighted downtown properties into public and economic assets," said EPA regional administrator, Shaun McGrath. "These investments will address contamination and create new opportunities for people to live, play, and do business."
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA's Brownfields program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse these brownfields sites. Since the inception of the program in 1995, cumulative brownfield program investments have leveraged more than $22 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per EPA brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 105,942 jobs nationwide.
More information on Brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/
More Brownfields information:
Program http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm