Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler were in Kalispell Friday visiting multiple brownfields sites.
Brownfield land is any previously developed land that may potentially be contaminated or land that was previously used for industrial or commercial purposes with suspected pollution due to hazardous waste.
The tour included Glacier Rail Park, the former CHS Country Store, the CHS Agronomy Center and finished at the SunRift Beer Company in downtown.
According to a press release, The EPA’s Brownfields Program provides direct funding for brownfields assessment, cleanup, revolving loans, environmental job training, technical assistance, training and research.
“What I am grateful for is the EPA is getting results. It is resolving these long-standing issues in places like Butte, Anaconda, Libby, and we have this brownfields site right here in Kalispell,” said Daines.
Daines said there are brownfields sites all over the state, “But this is an example of where you can restore and reclaim the land and turn it into a vibrant part of the downtown economy.”
“It is so important for our communities like Kalispell, to grow their downtown economy, it’s important for jobs and keeping our towns healthy,” said Daines.