Excerpt from EPA Region 8 news release, March 19, 2019. Read full news release here.
DENVER -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated a milestone achievement with the East Helena Public Schools and other agencies and organizations at a ground-breaking ceremony at the future location of the East Helena High School at 2760 Valley Drive in East Helena, Montana yesterday.
The East Helena Public Schools (EHPS) high school will welcome an anticipated 500-600 students. The opening ceremony was held yesterday, Monday, March 18, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. East Helena officials plan to open the $29.5 million school to students in 2020.
“The opening of the East Helena High School exemplifies what can be achieved when communities come together to focus on Superfund site reuse,” said EPA Assistant Regional Administrator Betsy Smidinger. “Today, we celebrate a partnership that has made a shared vision a reality.”
EPA, EHPS, the Montana Environmental Trust Group LLC (METG), and the State of Montana worked with community residents to identify ways to reuse property that is protective of public health and the environment. METG, as trustee of the Montana Environmental Custodial Trust, sold 35 acres at the East Helena Superfund site to EHPS for the new high school in November 2018.