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Carter County weighs demolition as Granite Peak outlines EPA-funded cleanup of Ekalaka Hospital
Summary
Granite Peak, the county's contracted QEP, told commissioners EPA grant rules currently allow abatement but not demolition unless a structural impairment is shown; the team said it will prepare an APCA, coordinate with Montana DEQ and SHPO, and aims for abatement as soon as May if approvals proceed.
Rod Tock, chairman of the Carter County Board of Commissioners, and county staff met with Granite Peak representatives on Jan. 7 to review federal cleanup options for the long-vacant Ekalaka Hospital and discuss whether EPA-funded abatement could include demolition costs.
Granite Peak’s team — introduced by county staff as David Sanborn and Kristen Hileman, the QEPs assigned to the project — said EPA currently has approved funding for abatement only, not demolition, unless a structural engineer documents that a building is unsafe. Speaker 4 told the commissioners that “EPA has only approved, abatement of this building… because it's not structurally impaired,” and emphasized the need for technical documentation if the county wants demolition funded through the cleanup grant.
That distinction matters for costs and scheduling. Granite Peak explained it will prepare an APCA (Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives) that compares options line by line, including abatement-only, abatement with future demolition, and abatement performed during demolition. The firm noted that “if we can show a cost savings through abatement during demolition, they typically approve that,” and said it will present alternatives to EPA for review.
County officials and consultants discussed several practical issues that could affect which option is feasible: the hospital site has known petroleum contamination handled by the Montana DEQ Petroleum Program; regulated (friable) asbestos will likely require off-site disposal at a facility such as Miles City; the structure contains lead-based paint that Granite Peak recommended sampling (top 6 inches of soil) and, if necessary, limited excavation; and subsurface features and utility lines will require utility locates and possibly foundation removal.
Granite Peak and county staff also outlined how procurement and payments will work. The county will contract with an abatement or demolition contractor; Granite Peak will serve as third-party oversight and prepare bid specifications and clearance sampling plans for EPA approval. The project has a $200,000 state subgrant available for initial invoices; amounts beyond that will move into a loan portion managed through grant/loan administrators. Granite Peak said the team will route invoices and a drawdown request through its processes and asked the county to name a signer (Dan) to approve drawdown requests via DocuSign.
On timing, Granite Peak estimated a best-case schedule: once the APCA, clearance plans and public meeting are complete and EPA/DEQ/SHPO approvals are obtained, abatement could begin in the spring; “we're thinking abatement somewhere around May,” a Granite Peak representative said, while noting the timeline is contingent on contractor availability and federal or state review periods.
Next procedural steps include Granite Peak preparing the APCA, the county hosting a public meeting and a 30-day public comment period on the cleanup alternative, and completing site-specific plans and bid documents for abatement (and demolition if EPA will allow it). County staff and Granite Peak agreed to coordinate communications with DEQ and to document all contacts and approvals.
The board did not take a formal vote on demolition at the meeting; Granite Peak will return with written options and cost comparisons for the commissioners and EPA.
