Bear Paw Development Corp. program gives grant for Sweetheart Bakery building

A local program is helping another local property work to clean up leaked fuel, and the public is invited to a meeting Tuesday to hear the plans. Bear Paw Development Corp. announced in a press release that details of plans to clean up the former Sweetheart Bakery discount store at 6 2nd Street will be presented at noon Tuesday in the Large Conference Room in the Ryan Building, 48 2nd Ave.

Several property owners have used grants from the program to discover if contamination exists and to remediate contamination.

The meeting will concern the former Sweetheart Bakery, also formerly known as Eddy’s Bakery, which was previously Northern Tire Buff ’n’ Shine, a tire and lube shop with fuel tanks established at the location in 1949. People reported in the 1990s a fuel tank leak at the location, the release says. The tanks have been removed, but petroleum impacts have not yet been remediated. The proposed excavation would remove petroleum-impacted soil, where accessible, the release says.

After Sweetheart Bakery discount store closed, the release says, the property was purchased in 2013 by Northern Tire Building LLC. The new owner approached the Brownfields Program at Bear Paw Development looking for help cleaning up the site.

Bear Paw’s Brownfields Program helps property owners to assess and clean up sites that are contaminated by either petroleum or hazardous substances, such as asbestos or lead-based paint. The goal of the program is to provide information, technical resources, and cleanup funding to allow such sites to be redeveloped.

The proposed excavation at the Former Sweetheart Bakery property will remove petroleum-impacted soil from the area of the former tanks. The soil will be excavated down to 14 feet and the extent of excavation will be limited by the presence of the site building to the southeast and a 16-inch water main to the west. The space will then be filled with new soil that includes special oxidants to further break down petroleum remnants. Sidewalks, pavement and some signage will also be replaced. The plan for cleanup has been approved by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. After the cleanup is completed, the owner said the business hopes to sell the property, which is a large lot in a prime location downtown.

In the press release, Bear Paw invited the public to the meeting for a presentation of the cleanup plan Tuesday. Lunch will not be provided, but attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch.

For more information, people can contact Samantha Chagnon, Bear Paw Development’s Brownfields Coordinator at 265-9226 or via email at [email protected].