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Gianforte announces $7 million in funding to help with flood recovery efforts – Daily Montanan

['Daily Montanan Staff', 'More From Author', '- June']

Date: 2022-06 

Gov. Greg Gianforte announced $7 million in funding on Friday to help with flood recovery efforts in south central Montana.

Five million will go to support tourism-reliant businesses impacted by the historic and devastating flooding that hit Montana last week. And $2 million will go toward addressing flood-related emergencies.

The Montana Department of Commerce’s Tourism Reliant Business Flood Assistance Grant will provide working capital for tourism-reliant businesses and can be used to support payroll, rent, accounts payable, debt services, and expenses related to shifts in operations to retain and restore existing businesses, current employees, or business viability for future re-employment, the governor’s office said in a press release.

“Tourism is one of Montana’s most important industries, and many of our tourism-reliant businesses in Yellowstone Country were hit hard,” Montana Department of Commerce Director Scott Osterman said in the press release from the governor’s office. “The Tourism Reliant Business Flood Assistance grant will give businesses in this area much-needed support to get them up and running so they can give in-state and out-of-state guests their best possible Montana experience.”

To be eligible for the $5 million in grant funding businesses must be a Montana-based company located in Carbon, Park or Stillwater Counties and be registered and in good standing with the Secretary of State or local Tribal government. The maximum award available per applicant is up to two months of working capital or $25,000, whichever is less, per the release.

The $2 million in flood emergency relief was made available after Gianforte approved the recommendations of the Infrastructure Advisory Commission which met yesterday.

“As we recover and rebuild, it’s critical we get support in the hands of Montanans impacted by flooding and help them get back on their feet as quickly as possible,” Gov. Gianforte said in a press release. “I appreciate the commission’s unanimous support in making funds available to the folks that need it most. We’ll continue to bring the full resources of the state to bear as we recover and rebuild together.”

Gianforte also directed the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to expedite a grant application to prioritize $1.2 million of unused irrigation grant funds to repair the irrigation systems damaged by recent flooding.

And he awarded more than $1.9 million in grant funds to seven local jurisdictions for water and sewer infrastructure projects, including $72,500 to Chouteau County, more than $1 million to Flathead County, more than $275,000 each to Lake and Park counties, more than $145,000 to the town of Sheridan, $118,000 to White Sulphur Springs, and more than $11,000 to Beaverhead County, according to his office.

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