House bill advances $4.8 million for Western Montana rural ag projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several rural infrastructure and agriculture projects in Western Montana stand to benefit from $4.8 million dollars approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. 

The House Wednesday night passed the FY27 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Act which will help fund projects in Columbia Falls, Libby, Ronan, Flathead County, Lake County, Lincoln County and for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The project list includes $2,325,000 for phase one of wastewater treatment plant improvements in Columbia Falls, $1 million for phase one of water filtration work in Libby and $1 million for phase one of a wastewater treatment upgrade in Ronan.

It also includes $259,612 for Lake County communication tower replacements, $69,000 for the Charlo Volunteer Fire Department and $187,500 for Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes emergency communications.

Congressman Ryan Zinke, who serves on the Appropriations Committee, helped craft the bill.

"I’ve made it a priority to stand up for rural America and the people who keep this country fed,” said Zinke in a release. “The funding in this bill will upgrade basic infrastructure in places like Columbia Falls, Libby and Ronan and strengthen emergency communications. And I've made sure it cracks down on foreign ownership of American farmland and strengthens food safety protections because food security is national security. Montana Farmers and Ranchers produce a gold star product, and my job is to make sure they have the infrastructure, funding and administration policy to back them.”

The bill also carries broader agriculture provisions that Zinke said would matter in Montana. Those include $1.16 billion for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and an added $500,000 for pulse crop health research.

Other provisions kept funding in place for precision livestock management research and semi-arid West soil health research, increased support for the Barley Pest Initiative and boosted resources for food safety inspections and Farm Service Agency staffing.

The measure now heads to the Senate for a vote