The Environmental Protection Agency is releasing roughly a quarter million dollars in grant funding to help small, rural communities in Montana pay for upgrades to their water systems.
The agency says the program is intended to strengthen sewage and stormwater collections against intense rainfall events. Heavy rainfall can overwhelm stormwater and sewage treatment facilities and pollute local water supplies.
Historic flooding on the Yellowstone river in 2022 wiped out a sewage line near Gardiner, requiring the town to order a water boil advisory for several days. Scientists say heavy rainfall events are projected to become more frequent as a result of climate change.
The EPA says amendments in the 2021 federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law removed cost-share requirements on the grants, making them more accessible to rural, and financially distressed communities.
