MT / county FIPS 30027 / county research

Fergus County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Fergus County is 144 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 202 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (85), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (65), Brownfield property (24). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 47.2495, -109.3597.

How this county ranks in Montana

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Fergus County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	144	143.2	1.01x	121.3 to 170.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.5	30.2	0.98x	20.1 to 43.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	9.7 to 30.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.6	18.7	0.94x	10.2 to 29.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.1	23.8	0.93x	12.4 to 37	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	402.9	453.4	0.89x	360.5 to 449.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	34.2	51.8	0.66x	24 to 48.6	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Fergus County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,197.5	9,842.6	-17%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	134.4	96.9	+39%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde8.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.65 per million
Acetaldehyde0.86 per million
Pahpom0.61 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 330 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 131.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

202 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Rail grade crossing85
NPDES wastewater discharge permit65
Brownfield property24
Public airport10
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Lewistown Wwtp, Lewistown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018927768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Town Of Denton Wwtp, Denton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006723126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lewistown Livestock Inc, Lewistown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010825544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Winifred Domestic Wwtf, Winifred
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024408942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Harlan And Unit 2, Lewistown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067187038 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mkw Pit, Lewistown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071426005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Schmitt Livestock Llc, Denton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024407961 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Mk Weeden Construction, Inc., Lewistown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070506686 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Montana Fiberglass Inc, Lewistown
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017616677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Lewistown Wastewater Treatment Plant, Lewistown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023137283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Lewistown
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 300270006 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3
On Your Way, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020304339 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Berg Lumber Mill, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038741555 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Railroad Right-Of-Way, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038748344 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Brewery Flats, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038753051 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Paris Cleaners, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759705 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Reese Tire And Fuel Center, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964332 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Save The Barn, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966127 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Nurses School (Lewistown), Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967307 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hilger Country Store, Hilger
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971102 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Main St. Lot, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971475 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lewistown Annex, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972436 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lewistown Feed Mill Property, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976046 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Movie Store, Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976217 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mid-State Signs (Former Property), Lewistown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976220 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Fergus County

Montana state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Fergus County, and their findings.
Montana vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Montana health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Montana environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Montana drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

Scan an address in Fergus County View on the heat map All Montana counties