Montana
| Program | # of Grants | EDA Funds |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works | 2 | $1,400,000 |
| Economic Adjustment Assistance | 2 | $875,738 |
| Disaster Relief | 1 | $280,000 |
| Technical Assistance | 4 | $234,208 |
| Planning | 19 | $1,014,500 |
| Total | 28 | $3,804,446 |
EDA awarded 28 grants totaling $3.8 million in the State of Montana in FY 2012. These grants supported technical assistance, strategic planning, and construction of essential infrastructure that supports growth of the private sector. These grants provide a foundation for assistance for communities to develop locally driven collaborative economic development strategies for long-term economic growth. These investments are expected to create or retain 152 jobs according to grantee estimates.
Investment Spotlight: EDA Investment Creates High Skill Job Opportunities in Tribal Communities
Innovation in energy development in the Northern Plains presents new economic development opportunities in Montana and North Dakota. With potentially billions of gallons of previously untapped oil reserves now accessible, the Bakken shale formation has made one of the most rural regions of the country one of the most attractive to investors and developers, and become a thriving center for new business creation.
In no place have these newfound economic opportunities had a more profound impact than the region’s remote tribal communities where high unemployment is chronic and persistent and new business creation opportunities are limited. In March 2012, EDA awarded $1,000,000 to the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of Montana to help expand the Tribe’s oil drilling services operations. EDA’s investment funds the renovation and expansion of an existing building and the purchase of specialized equipment for the development of a tribally-owned pipe rethreading operation at Fort Peck Tech Services. As a result, the Tribe’s entrance into the oilfield services industry is creating new high-wage, higher-skilled jobs that can be sustained for decades.