Sign up for the free Great Falls This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Great Falls city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up 5/11/2026 Company doesn’t publicly address disposal sites Great Falls biorefinery Montana Renewables can now send its wastewater to disposal sites in Pondera County after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved a permit application on May 1. The company previously sent its wastewater to a disposal site in Idaho and to other out-of-state locations, according to regulatory documents and press releases. This new permit opens up two unused oil wells that are less than two hours away, rather than in another state. But a Montana Renewables spokesperson dodged a question about how or when it might use the disposal sites. “We are committed to responsible management of our wastewater and have taken steps to significantly reduce the amount over the past two years. Moving forward, we will continue to review options and make the best choices for the environment and business,” Montana Renewables spokesperson Lanni Klasner said in an email to Montana Free Press last week. Asked to be more specific about how or when the sites would be used, Klasner declined to comment. Patrick Montalban, whose oil and gas company owns the well sites, didn’t return a request for comment. Montalban sought the permits specifically for the disposal of Montana Renewables’ wastewater, which could amount to as much as 232,000 gallons per day. The permits had been under consideration by the EPA for nearly three years and faced pushback from area residents and public officials, who voiced concerns about the long-term impacts of injecting hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater deep underground. The injection sites, more than 3,400 feet underground in the Madison Aquifer, have previously been used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas operations. Permit documents describe the underground water as of poor quality. The EPA determined that this region of the aquifer is “not a valuable potential source of drinking water” now or in the future. Pondera County Commissioner Zane Drishinski told MTFP last week that the county is exploring appeal options following the EPA decision. “We’re highly disappointed in their decision, of course,” Drishinski said. “We have a 30-day window to appeal starting last Friday [May 1] at 4:30.” Montana Renewables is in the middle of expanding its biorefinery, which primarily produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This type of jet fuel is made from agricultural materials, like seed oils. It still needs to be blended with conventional jet fuel and is currently used in a relatively small number of flights, but the federal government has said SAF has the potential to reduce airline emissions and has incentivized its production. The Montana Renewables expansion is funded by one of those incentives — a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. As part of its expansion, Montana Renewables plans to build a wastewater treatment facility at its Great Falls site. In late September, Klasner told MTFP that engineering work had started on that part of the development. Asked last week about progress on wastewater treatment, Klasner said the company has been “purchasing some necessary equipment and working with engineering consultants as we continue to evaluate and develop the facility.” What is Great Falls competing against to land Janicki? Economic developers and local officials are excited about the prospect of Janicki Industries building a new aerospace manufacturing plant in Great Falls. The company has proposed a 1.5-million-square-foot facility with as many as 1,000 jobs, which could be a boon to the city’s tax base and stagnant population. But Janicki has made it clear that it wants to see what its finalist cities can do for the company. “We see great opportunity in Great Falls, however, the scale of upfront investment required to build a campus of this size means that competitive tax and infrastructure support will be a deciding factor in where we ultimately build,” said Nick Lavacca, Janicki community relations manager, in a press release. Great Falls is competing against Twin Falls, Idaho, and Jerome, Idaho. The primary tax incentives proposed by Great Falls and Cascade County are laid out in state law for new or expanding industries. The incentives offer a 50% property tax reduction for five years, which diminishes over the following five years. So, in year six, the tax break would be 40%, followed by 30% in year seven and so on until a company pays full taxes in year 10 and beyond. Great Falls and Cascade County officials are holding public hearings on Tuesday, May 12, to consider the incentive proposals. If approved, the tax breaks would apply to each jurisdiction’s slice of the property tax revenue pie. It’s not publicly known what the Idaho cities might offer, however. Twin Falls City Manager Travis Rothweiler (a Great Falls native, by the way) told MTFP in an email that city council members, local officials and economic developers have been meeting in executive sessions to discuss the “Janicki opportunity.” “The city of Twin Falls has a long practice of not releasing or discussing any of the incentives it may or may not have offered until the process has concluded,” Rothweiler wrote in the email. Jerome could also propose its own incentives. City Administrator Mike Williams did not return a request for comment. The state of Idaho offers various tax incentives, many of which offer sales tax breaks — a resource Montana can’t directly match, though the lack of sales tax in the Treasure State could be considered an incentive. Janicki estimated that its tax assessment in Great Falls could be cut from $6.5 million to roughly $3.2 million at the start of the tax abatement. The proposed site, in the AgriTech industrial park on the city’s east end, is currently vacant and generates a little more than $20,000 in annual property tax revenue. Photo Op  Credit: Matt Hudson/MTFP Cruisin’ the Drag saw big attendance on a beautiful Saturday, May 2. Custom cars, trucks and motorcycles filled Central Avenue, as well as additional side streets and surrounding parking lots. Calling all photographers: Submit a photo for Great Falls This Week to [email protected]. By The Numbers The number of participants in the 46th-annual Ice Breaker Road Race, which took place April 26. This was a great turnout despite cold and snowy weather that hit the region, according to Great Falls City Manager Greg Doyon, who shared the figure during a May 5 city commission meeting. 5 Things to Know in Great Falls Charlie Russell Park on 33rd Street South will get new playing surfaces on the tennis and basketball courts after the Great Falls City Commission approved a bid to complete the work. The funds, $156,000 to United Materials, will come from the city’s park district maintenance fund. The project is one of the improvements planned by the city for the current fiscal year. The city commission also approved last week a $187,850 contract to replace 165 feet of timber bridge deck along River’s Edge Trail. The King’s Bridge is part of the eastern portion of the trail on the south shore of the river. It was first built in 1902 to serve the railroad. Money for this project also comes from the park maintenance district fund. The dog park along River Road will be closed for about a month starting May 18 “to protect the health of the turf, ensure public safety and maintain the long-term quality of this popular community space,” according to a city press release. The mild winter brought more visitors to the park, and the turf needs time to grow strong for the peak of summer use. The city expects the park to reopen June 15. The first of a series of 5K fun runs takes place May 13. They are hosted by the city Park and Recreation department and will follow routes along River’s Edge Trail. Gathering for the first run is at 6 p.m. at the Gibson Park bandshell. Four more runs will take place throughout the summer. The Great Falls Planning Advisory Board and Zoning Commission in late April postponed a vote on a housing development proposed by the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The planning board will revisit the issue May 26, and asked the tribe to provide additional details about how the apartments would be rented. A statement from the tribe said they were “disappointed in the decision to postpone a vote,” but “respects the Commission’s responsibility to carefully review complex issues and ensure that its recommendation is well-informed.” Public Notice Cascade County commissioners and Great Falls city commissioners will hold separate hearings on Tuesday, May 12, to consider tax incentives to lure Janicki Industries to Great Falls. Each board will vote on tax breaks that affect their share of property tax proceeds. Because the proposed Janicki site is within Great Falls, the majority of the tax revenue implications are under the city’s purview. Cascade County commissioners will discuss the measure during their regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. They meet at the county annex building at 325 2nd Ave. N. Meeting documents are available here. The Great Falls City Commission will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Civic Center. Informational documents can be found here. Dept. of Corrections  GFTW last week incorrectly identified The History Museum Research Center in Great Falls.  The post EPA grants wastewater permits for Montana Renewables appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less