BUTTE SECURES $20M GRANT TO BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUB: A TRANSFORMATIVE STEP FOR OUR FUTURE
January 2025
Community members and officials from Butte-Silver Bow (BSB) gathered today to celebrate an eagerly awaited announcement. It was officially confirmed at approximately 8 AM on Friday, January 10, 2025—that BSB and Headwaters RC&D have been awarded a $20 million grant to construct a “Community Resilience Hub.” This state-of-the-art facility will be built behind the Civic Center on the newly reclaimed Parrot Tailings site in Butte, Montana.
The funding, provided through the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program, supports community-driven projects to reduce pollution and address climate change. This new hub addresses a long-standing need within the community. Butte’s Chief Executive, JP Gallagher, expressed his passion and pride for the project, mentioning that this was something the residents of Butte had wanted ever since he was Director of Parks Recreation nearly a decade ago. He emphasized that while Butte currently has facilities designed for large bazaars and sporting events, this new center will provide a safe and versatile space for community gatherings, cultural expression, and connection. It will also serve as a refuge during extreme health events, such as wildfire smoke, ensuring the community has a secure place to turn during emergencies.
The Community Resilience Hub will provide critical resources and opportunities for Butte. It will offer recreational activities for youth and inclusive spaces for underserved and disadvantaged populations. Beyond recreation, it will be a safe haven during wildfires, air quality crises, and severe weather events. The hub will also function as an emergency shelter, reinforcing Butte’s preparedness for natural disasters and other challenges.
EPA Region 8 representatives traveled to Butte to deliver the announcement. They received heartfelt appreciation for their guidance in helping BSB and grant-writing stakeholders secure this transformative funding. The representatives highlighted how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act have provided the largest influx of EPA funding in history, empowering initiatives that promote environmental justice in overburdened and underserved communities.
Danielle Arigoni, Director of the Environmental Justice, Community Health, and Environmental Review Division at EPA Region 8, informed BSB residents that the $20 million grant is part of the National Community Change Grants Program. This program, with a total of $2 billion in funding, focuses on reducing pollution, enhancing community resilience, and building the capacity to address environmental challenges. With this funding, Butte is taking a significant step toward a more sustainable and resilient future.
Julia Crain, BSB’s Planning Director, highlighted the extensive effort and dedication that culminated in successfully securing this Community Grant over the past five years. She explained that the journey began with the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency workshop held at Montana Tech, which sparked a collaborative effort and led to the creation of the Sustainability, Health, and Resiliency Steering Committee. This committee brought together diverse participants from across the community, including representatives from BSB, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and Montana Technological University.
This plan envisions strategies to tackle the increasing challenges posed by wildfires, temperature fluctuations, and extreme weather events. The resulting Sustainability, Health, and Resilience Plan (SHARP) has garnered significant recognition and paved the way for this Community Resilience Hub.
BSB Community Development Director, Karen Byrnes, addressed that the grant and the Community Resilience Hub will address one of our community’s most pressing needs, which have been identified repeatedly through numerous community engagement events. Butte has embraced strategic planning and shown momentum in turning planning documents into implementation.
The Butte-Silver Bow Community Resilience Hub represents the culmination of years of collaborative effort to address critical community priorities. Numerous plans and studies have identified these priorities, all converging on a shared vision for a more resilient future.
Key guiding plans include the 2020 Comprehensive Plan, the Uptown Butte Master Plan, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, the Recreation for Rural Economies Plan, the Community Housing Plan, the Community Health Needs Assessment, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, the SHARP, and the EPA-led charrette on the Galena Street Corridor Brownfield Redevelopment Plan.
An EcoAdapt workshop focused on climate resilience and climate change further refined this vision. Together, these efforts have shaped a unified direction—one that is now being realized through this transformative grant and the creation of the Community Resilience Hub
The recognition for this achievement extends to every individual and group that helped turn this vision into reality. Several community partners played pivotal roles in the process. Headwaters RC&D was instrumental as a Community-Based Organization partner for this grant. Water & Environmental Technologies (WET) assisted in the feasibility study, conceptual design, and grant writing with BSB, Headwaters RC&D, and Adams Consulting. Everyone’s dedication and expertise truly brought this project to life.
A heartfelt thank you goes to Montana Resources for their generous contribution to the initial funding that made the feasibility studies and preliminary efforts for this grant possible. Their support laid the foundation for turning this vision into reality. We are continually thankful for the visionary leadership and dedicated staff at BSB that allow this type of transformative project to be possible in our community.
