County sets aside $2 million of settlement funds for Superfund site cleanup or site‑prep tied to economic development

Deputy County Administrator Matt Myers told the Financial and Administrative Committee on Sept. 4 that staff would set aside $2 million of the county’s Monsanto/Montana settlement funds for potential environmental cleanup or site‑preparation activities related to proposed economic development projects (agenda item 8.32). The committee approved the line‑item transfer.

Myers said the move is a signaling step: it does not commit the county to a specific recipient or project, but it earmarks the funds for possible reimbursement grants or site work if a qualifying proposal emerges. He said the county would vet any requests, require compliance and protections in agreements, and bring any proposed funding commitments back to the committee for discussion and action. Myers said staff had consulted the state’s attorney’s office and concluded the proposed uses comport with statute.

Committee members discussed precedent and comparable awards to nearby communities; Myers said other communities had received smaller awards (he cited examples in the $400,000 range and larger awards in the low millions for municipal recipients such as Waukegan) and that staff would share further details once collected. Member Clark urged consideration of local environmental priorities — including PFAS monitoring and cleanup work discussed elsewhere on county agendas — when evaluating uses of the settlement funds. Members and staff emphasized that the set‑aside would not automatically be disbursed and that any application of funds would come back to the board.