EPA grant to clean up Elmo contamination site

ELMO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $4.35 million in Brownfields grants to five organizations throughout Montana, including the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation, who will receive $200,000 to remove up 2,500 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil at the nine-acre Joseph Allotment, along U.S. Highway 93 in Elmo.

The site was contaminated when petroleum was released from the former Elmo Cash Store, located adjacent to the Joseph Allotment. Cleanup of this site will reduce threats of exposure to petroleum and will allow the Tribes to construct much needed housing and support jobs and economic development in the community.

EPA’s brownfields grants are used to assess and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial properties like deserted gas stations or closed smelters. There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in America. These investments help leverage redevelopment, promote economic growth and lead to job creation.

Since its inception, EPA’s Brownfields investments have leveraged more than $16.3 billion in clean up and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 70,000 jobs. Brownfields grants also target under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods — places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.