Zinke Nominates 15 Western Montana Projects for Federal Funding totaling $47,108,583

WASHINGTON, DC Today, Congressman Ryan Zinke announced that he requested federal funding for 15 projects in Western Montana to improve infrastructure, economic development, and law enforcement capabilities. The requests were submitted to the House Appropriations Committee of which he is a member. The projects would benefit communities in the following counties: Beaverhead (2), Flathead, Gallatin, Lake (3), Lincoln (2), Missoula, Mineral (3), Powell, Ravalli (3), and Sanders (3). The projects are posted on Congressman Zinke’s website for public inspection here and the list is below.

“Rural Montana’s infrastructure and public service needs are different than those of Miami or Phoenix, and taking advantage of my position on the Appropriations Committee allows me to make sure our tax dollars are spent on projects that support our taxpayers,” said Congressman Zinke. “We’ve identified and nominated great projects like a wastewater system in Seeley Lake that will help revitalize the town and bring back jobs, and a five-county law enforcement project that will deliver state of the art equipment to our sheriffs and allow them all to coordinate with the same comms and gear should a multi-county situation emerge. I am thankful to the county commissioners, mayors and sheriffs who have been working with my office for months to identify projects that would have the biggest impacts.”

The submissions were made through the U.S. House of Representatives Community Project Funding requests which allows Congress to direct appropriations from specific grant accounts to eligible projects. All projects must meet the published grant requirements and pass a series of legislative hurdles. Every project must be approved by the House Appropriations Committee, of which Zinke is a member, the full House of Representatives and be included in the joint funding package approved by the House and Senate and signed by the President. In Fiscal Year 2024, Zinke successfully secured $35 million in funding for Western Montana.  

Proposed projects include:

*Projects listed by county in alphabetical order 

Beaverhead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, and Sanders County, $2,123,500 - Law Enforcement Equipment for 5 Rural Counties

To reduce cost to the taxpayer and promote equipment continuity in the event of a multi-county response to an incident, Mineral, Lake, Beaverhead, Lincoln, and Sanders counties have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to purchase much needed vehicles and equipment in bulk for bolstered law enforcement and public safety. The crisis at the southern border has turned every state into a border state – including Montana. Five rural counties with a combined population of less than 80,000 are experiencing exponential increases in human trafficking, drug trafficking, overdoses, and crime, directly related to the border crisis. These five counties have formed a joint purchasing agreement to purchase desperately needed equipment and vehicles in bulk to save tens- to hundreds of thousands of dollars per county. The funding will purchase patrol vehicles, body scanners, radios and telecom equipment, rifles, vests, and fund safety upgrades.

Beaverhead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, and Sanders County, $322,000 - Enhanced Law Enforcement Capability for 5 Rural Counties

This request helps modernize Western Montana law enforcement giving them increased communication capacity and interoperability between counties, in addition to modern inmate transportation. This request would fund the purchase of 24 patrol radios, 6 patrol vehicle radio repeaters, and 2 upfitted transport vehicles.

Flathead County, $1,936,170 - North Fork Road Guardrails

The significance of the North Fork Road cannot be overstated. It provides crucial access for residents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations along the Canadian border, year-round recreational activities, and timber industry operations. It also serves as the route for approximately 150,000 annual visitors to Glacier National Park that access the park through the Camas and Polebridge entrances. The North Fork Road plays a pivotal role in the economic and recreational vitality of the region. Despite its significance, the North Fork Road poses safety concerns. Composed of a mostly gravel surface and winding in nature, it has numerous roadside hazards, including sections of roadway with steep side slopes descending to the river below. The existing guardrail along this section of road have surpassed their service life and due to their poor condition, have reduced ability to function as intended. The project will add or replace guardrail to improve safety along 3.71 miles of roadway.

Gallatin County, $906,660 - Sheriff’s Office Rapid DNA Capabilities and Patrol Vehicles

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department and Belgrade Police Department have formed an MOU to combine their purchasing power and coordinate complementary technology. This funding request will fund the purchase of all necessary equipment, software, warranties, consumables, and technical DNA support for the county sheriff's office and all other municipal law enforcement agencies. This comprehensive Rapid DNA program will be open to all law enforcement agencies within the county, and hopefully beyond. The state crime lab is facing an overwhelming number of DNA evidence items awaiting processing. To manage this caseload, they have created strict guidelines prioritizing certain crimes and limiting the number of DNA samples that can be processed. To help ease the burden on the state crime lab and enable them to focus on more complex and high-priority cases, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office will be able to process DNA samples that can lead to immediate investigative leads. Additionally, the Belgrade Police Department will acquire fully outfitted patrol sport utility cruisers to enhance the safety of the citizens of Belgrade. Belgrade is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Western Montana and budgets are stretched thin across city government to support that growth.

Lake County, $1,604,500 - CSKT Invasive Species Inspection Station 

Watercraft inspection stations are Montana’s front line of defense to prevent the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). The Tribes and their partners have been working diligently since 2017 to prevent the mussels from entering the Flathead Basin and the Columbia River Basin. The mussels have devastating impacts on the ecosystems and cost our country millions each year in damage and maintenance. The Tribes and their partners have been working diligently since 2017 to prevent the mussels from entering the Flathead Basin and the Columbia River Basin. The CSKT operates the Ravalli station. It is the only station in Montana to operate 24 hours per day, 7 days a week during boating season. The station does not have permanent infrastructure and it lacks adequate protection from the weather, running water, restrooms, and electricity. The tribe would like to develop a stable and permanent AIS watercraft inspection station in Ravalli to safely inspect watercraft and ensure that Montana’s waterways are free from invasive species. 

Lincoln County, $820,319 - Rural Airport Reconstruction and Emergency Services Expansion  

The Troy Airport runway is in poor condition at-best, requiring extensive runway restoration and repair. This rural airport is vital to search and rescue, wildland firefighting efforts and medical flights within Northwest Montana. With the wildland fire trend in NW Montana, the need for a central location for deploying firefighting aircrafts and for a well-maintained runway is essential and cannot be overstated. The Troy Airport is situated close to many forested regions that are susceptible to wildland fire allowing for quick response time to extinguish fires before they spread further. A poorly maintained runway can have significant negative effects on airport operations and safety including the delay of firefighting efforts. Additionally, the 797 residents of Troy rely on the airport for air ambulance service as the closest trauma center is located more than 2 hours away in Kalispell.

Lincoln County, $1,500,000 - Troy Library and Opportunity Center 

This project will turn the Troy branch of the Lincoln County Library into the Troy Library and Opportunity Center (TLOC). Through partnership, collaboration, and community building, this needed community asset will reduce barriers in accessing services and resources and will improve the health, social, and economic outcomes, for the citizens of Troy, Bull River, Yak, and surrounding remote areas. The TLOC also serves as the local Job Service access point in the county as there is no official physical office in all of Lincoln County. This is vital to the economic health of the community and serves as the focal point for people in the area seeking employment. The TLOC also serves as a community broadband access location for an extremely remote community with limited or no internet access whatsoever providing the often-sole source of commerce-supporting access in the area. This project will make critical facility upgrades with multi use aspects providing valuable services space not just for the library, job service, and local business support services in the area but also safe and secure spaces for emergency service coordination events and law enforcement interviews and community meetings.

Missoula County, $1,400,000 - Lolo Wastewater Treatment Plant

The community of Lolo is deficient in the water supply requirements for having the largest well out of service and meeting the max day water demand for the system. The community currently operates a public water supply system through an RSID and requires an upgrade to Well No. 1 and Well No. 2, to increase the water supply for the community. The water rights exist, and the wells can easily be upgraded to increase their capacity. The project was bid last year, and the community didn’t have enough money to award the bid. The benefit is that the project is shovel-ready and already approved by DEQ to move forward as soon as funds are available for the community to use.  The community is concerned about having enough water for the citizens, but particularly concerned during the summer months when the fire season is imminent.  The lack of redundancy for the water system is a great concern for the community and upgrading these two wells would provide that necessary capacity and surety.

Missoula County, $18,000,000 - Seeley Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant  

The largest employer in Seeley Lake and one of the largest in Missoula County announced it was closing after 75 years in business citing it was “crippled” by labor shortages driven by a lack of affordable housing, inflation and lumber prices. The mill employed roughly 250 employees. The town of Seeley Lake is very rural and unable to build additional housing because it does not have a municipal water system to support additional housing and the existing septic system is at capacity and contaminating the groundwater. Building a water system will allow developers to invest in affordable, workforce housing to support reopening the mill and growing jobs and economic activity in the region.

Mineral County, $1,000,000 - Alberton Water Tower 

Description: The funding would be used for the town of Alberton’s proposed water tank replacement which will add 200,000 gallons of drinking water storage to provide adequate water volume to satisfy maximum day demands. This project would benefit community health and safety by enhancing the potable water supply to the town of Alberton for domestic use and the addition of a second tank will allow for maintenance on the town’s water system without losing access to water. The project is on the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan List, is shovel ready, and can meet the cost share requirements.

Powell County, $1,009,934 - Equipment for Volunteer Fire Departments

Powell County is larger than the entire state of Delaware, and large sections of the County are very remote. First responders are responsible for responding to more than 800 miles of county road, 90 miles of state highway, and 36 miles of Interstate. Volunteer departments respond to hundreds of interstate accidents every year in addition to countless search and rescue operations on millions of acres of rugged wilderness. This request would fund the acquisition of equipment for EMS, fire department and search and rescue operations. This will help both Granite and Powell Counties, as both Gold Creek and Drummond’s Valley Fire work together per a mutual aid agreement, which further extends the impact of this request.

Ravalli County, $1,008,000 - Bridge Replacement, Groff Lane 

Ravalli County is one of the fastest growing counties in Montana. Groff Lane provides access to larger agricultural tracts in Ravalli County and a future potential public access.  The narrow bridges need to be replaced to allow for safer passage and also to ensure that irrigation water delivery can continue to some larger agricultural water users in the Bitterroot Valley.

Ravalli County, $4,500,000 - Old Corvallis Road Repair 

Old Corvallis Road serves as a crucial transportation artery in the greater Hamilton area, connecting the Corvallis community with essential services and employment opportunities in the City of Hamilton, notably a large pharmaceutical facility as well as a soon-to-be residential development that will consist of 140 units. The road suffers from poor pavement conditions and lacks dedicated non-motorized facilities, making walking hazardous. Traffic counts from 2023 reveal an average daily traffic of 2,705 vehicles with an anticipated increase of nearly 50% once the residential development is completed. Addressing these infrastructure challenges is crucial to ensuring safe and efficient travel along Old Corvallis Road.

Ravalli County, $10,000,000 - Wastewater Treatment Plant 

Ravalli County is currently one of the most rapidly developing counties in Montana and one of the greatest in need of affordable housing. One of the greatest barriers to that is the lack of water and sewage treatment capacity. Until recently, Ravalli County residents have been forced to send their septage by truck to Missoula County for disposal and treatment. Recently this arrangement was terminated due to Missoula County’s own issues with sewage treatment capacity. Currently all septage from within Ravalli County is being transported and deposited on privately held lands. This is a concern both environmentally and economically due to the capacity barriers this process creates. Septic seepage levels are reaching a dangerous level and because of this the county is limited in new septic permits it can issue to build new homes and dwellings. This new facility if funded would protect drinking water, ease capacity restrictions inhibiting development, and protect environmental quality by keeping septic seepage and human waste out of critical groundwater siphons and the Bitterroot River.

Sanders County, $977,500 - Repaving Marten Creek Road 

This project aims to rehabilitate and upgrade a surface transportation asset that if left unimproved threatens the mobility of people, delivery of services to residents, economic growth from tourism and vital national forest access. This project will improve the lifespan of Marten Creek Road, reduce future maintenance costs and allow more time, money and resources to be spent on other roads in the county. Sanders County proposes to hire a contractor to overlay 4.5 miles of Marten Creek Road with 2.5” thick asphalt 22’ wide. 

 *In the Ravalli County, $10,000,000 - Wastewater Treatment Plant section, a former version of this press release stated, "Currently all sewage pumped from septic tanks in Ravalli County is being deposed of on National Forest lands." and has been changed to "Currently all septage from within Ravalli County is being transported and deposited on privately held lands."

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