New Articles & Food for Thought

From today's Lewiston Tribune...
Imperial Oil undecided about Highway 12 route; Recent court ruling in Montana allows shipments, by Elaine Williams
Imperial Oil appears to have no immediate plans to begin using U.S. Highway 12 for megaloads, in spite of recent court decision in Montana that opens the route for shortened shipments that could still take up two lanes of traffic.... Judge Ray Dayton of the District Court in Missoula County ruled the oil company can transport oversized loads from Lolo Pass at the Idaho border on two-lane highways, but only to Missoula, where they would take an interstate highway to Canada, said Dave Ohler, acting legal counsel for the Montana Department of Transportation....
Dayton's ...[ruling] allows use of U.S.12 and U.S.Highway 93 to Missoula since, unlike the Missoula to Canada section, no new turnouts would be needed for Imperial Oil to comply with Montana's rule that limits traffic delays to 10 minutes. Dayton retained the restriction on the part of the proposed two-lane highway route from Missoula to Canada pending another court proceeding scheduled for January, Ohler said....
Still, taking U.S.12 and U.S.93 might have advantages for Imperial Oil. It would allow the cargo bound for a processing plant at the Kearl Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada to bypass Moscow. The extra-big hauls are routinely encountering protests in Moscow...
But Imperial Oil doesn't appear to be rushing to take advantage of Dayton's loosening of the original injunction. As of Wednesday, the transportation departments in Idaho and Montana hadn't received the paperwork they would require before Imperial Oil could be moving loads on U.S.12.
At the same time, the port of Lewiston hadn't been notified of any new arrivals belonging to Imperial Oil. ... Subscribers, read more.

We read the above article with some skepticism. The reporter's explanation of Dayton's ruling isn't precisely correct -- Dayton didn't rule that "the oil company can transport oversized loads...." As we understand it, Dayton ruled that MDT could consider 32-J permits for the reduced-size Imperial/Exxon loads. Also -- as we all have learned -- information coming from Imperial/Exxon spokespeople may not be true. So while the above article pulls out some details regarding the meaning of Dayton's ruling and indicates Imperial/Exxon isn't at the moment hot to hit the road using U.S.12, we are not drawing any firm conclusions.

Now, this food for thought...
Corporations are not people: We hold these truths to be self-evident…by Michael Nagler and Stephanie Van Hook | October 11, 2011, 2:11 pm

When is a Person not a Person?
Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSR) recently answered this absurd question with the obvious and embarrassing answer: when it’s a corporation. According to PSR's statement, in case anyone is confused, a human being:
is a complex organism with capacities for joy and pain, reflection, and the compassionate appreciation of others. Mature persons are expected to display reasoned judgment, and are personally responsible for their own actions (our emphasis). Human beings live, breath, think, experience emotions, and internalize values such as empathy and caring for others. Like all sentient beings, they suffer, and die.
....Read more

Remember when getting a crane to retrieve a fallen megaload on U.S.12 would be quick & easy? Now we have...CONOCOPHILLIPS & THE "GIANT" CRANE...

Giant crane to install megaload coker drums at Billings refinery; by Tom Lutey, Billings Gazette
BILLINGS - This winter, the tallest thing on the Billings horizon won't be First Interstate Bank. It will be one of the world's largest cranes with a 500-foot boom swinging two large pieces of oil refinery equipment into place.
"It's a Mammoet PTC ringer crane, 1,600-metric-ton capacity," said Brady Hobza, project engineer ... the fourth largest crane in the world." It is a megacrane special ordered to install two, 350-ton coker drums that earlier this year eclipsed two-way traffic on Montana backroads...
... more than 100 semitrailers ... will haul [the crane's] pieces here in a couple months ... Read more

IMPERIAL/EXXON:
Moscow wants reimbursement for megaload policing costs posted by Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise @ the Spokesman-REview, from an Associated Press story, 10/11/11
Moscow (Idaho) officials want a company transporting oil equipment for ExxonMobil to pay $12,800 for police services... from July to September. The city plans to submit weekly reimbursement requests to Mammoet... Read more (On page, scroll down.)

Exxon Test Module Postponed Once Again - Locals Recommend Megaloads Stay Off Fragile Highway 12

The first mention in the press of an Exxon megaload test module came in the fall of 2009. The test run was postponed until the spring of 2010, early summer, late summer and eventually fall of 2010. At the start of 2011 Exxon and ITD started putting out specific dates – February 22nd, February 28th, March 7th, March 28th and most recently April 4th. The reasons have varied over the course of the past year and half as to why the test module hasn’t been run. Yet the fact remains – Highway 12 is ill-suited to to be a megaload transportation route.

If you still think these loads have a future on Highway 12, I recommend you drive the route today. Look at the signs of rockfall and landslides – both large and small along the route. Notice the extra large potholes that have surfaced since the two Conoco loads labored over the route. Then look to the side and check out the river. With steady ran for the past week on top of better than average snowfall the creeks are all flowing at top capacity feeding the Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers into a frenzy. These are not the conditions to “test” out loads 200 tons over the national weight limit standard setfor interstate highways. Even with the weight distributed over numerous axels the pressure on the highway bed is much greater than that of a normal semi-truck. What effect will those weights have on the roadbed? How will pullouts that were not built to handle loads anywhere near this size hold up in these conditions? How does driving such a load at slow speeds with the increased noise and vibration affect all ready unstable hillsides? And what happens if there’s any kind of major problem?

These questions and many others were raised by local citizens at the informational meetings held in Kooskia last summer. Residents were told that Mammoet was the “best in the business” and that Highway 12 was the only route these modules could take. Since then we’ve learned that Mammoet had two accidents on dry, wide roads in the past year and that many of the modules can be broken down into smaller shipments as is evidenced by the work currently taking place at the Port of Lewiston. The representatives for Exxon/Imperial showed a general lack of knowledge relating to the nature of Highway 12 – they seemed unaware of snow and ice that covers the upriver section of the road for much of the winter as well as the risk of avalanche, the spring run-off and the landslides and rockslides that often accompany it as well as the large volume of summer traffic.

The best business decision Exxon can make at this point is to pack up those loads, ship them back down the Columbia and take the traditional route – through the Gulf of Mexico and up the central U.S. Had Conoco done that when they first ran into trouble their shipments would have arrived in Billings long ago.

Kooskia, Idaho ~ Gateway to the Wilderness or Pit Stop along Big Oil's Tar Sands Alley?

Kooskia Crossing is a lovely and informative tourist area at the entrance to Kooskia, Idaho. Volunteers have spent years developing this area, which now boasts a handsome, illustrated "Welcome" sign, multi-paneled information kiosk, and landscaped green space that volunteers spruce up and groom each year. One feature of the area is a beautiful metal sculpture celebrating the salmon and their native home, the Clearwater River. But now one's view of the salmon includes the giant megaload you see in the background. If the hundreds of proposed megaloads of Exxon/Imperial, Harvest, Shell and other tar sands oil companies are permitted for shipment along U.S.12, these giant loads will sit here almost daily for decades to come.

Speaking of salmon, one environmental concern of a megaload accident on U.S. 12 is damage to critical salmon spawning grounds. A load the scale of the megaloads could create an immediate dam if it fell into the Lochsa. Since Exxon's shipping company Mammoet had two accidents in the past year while driving on dry flat wide roads, it's no stretch of imagination to envision their having a slip-off or tip-over on curvy, narrow U.S. 12. A decline in salmon and other fish populations will be felt throughout north central Idaho's economy. Right now, today, in just a 2-mile stretch of the Middle Fork, 18 fishermen are fishing. They buy groceries, cafe meals, fishing gear, gas and rooms.

The question for local residents is what does the future hold for our children. We live next to the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 and enjoy 3 pristine wild and scenic rivers in our backyard. These are our greatest, most valuable natural resource assets. They are worth protecting - not just for their physical beauty, abundant hunting and fishing and many other recreation opportunities - but because they have value to visitors from around the nation and world and offer a substantial base for a healthy long-term tourism industry. Our area becomes more valuable to tourists and Idahoans alike only for as long as we protect the natural, remarkable wild and scenic qualities of North Central Idaho and ensure access to our wildlands and rivers. If instead we choose to take a few quick bucks now from oil companies wanting to turn our the highway into an industrial megaload truck route, we stand to loose normal access in the present and our only growing industry in the future. What may look like easy money to some comes with a price tag for our children and grandchildren - deteriorating roads, lower tax base, loss of access to public lands/rivers, and loss of value of our greatest asset.

Photo by Gail Renshaw

HIGHWAY 12 MEGALOAD UPDATE

UPDATE ON FIRST MEGALOAD SHIPMENT ON HIGHWAY 12
ConocoPhillips transport of megaload #1, which began Feb. 1st, had been scheduled to take 4 nights to travel from Lewiston, Idaho, to the Montana border. Instead it took 6 nights of driving over a two week period. According to ITD comments in news reports, weather held the load up in Kooskia from the morning of Thursday, Feb. 3rd, until Tuesday night Feb. 8th although local weather conditions were relatively mild during that period. It was snowing on the valley floor when they finally left Kooskia. Here are some stories and headlines from the first half of February:

Feb. 1 -- ConocoPhillips Megaload leaves Port of Lewiston, bound for Billings

Feb. 4 -- Megaloads hit mega snag, again (krem.com) ...The ConocoPhillips transport trailer...scraped a rock outcropping enroute on Wednesday night... Article, video, & scrape photo: http://www.krem.com/news/New-plan-required-after-megaload-causes-long-delay-115300374.html

Feb. 4 -- New plan required after megaload causes long delay (kxly.com) The Idaho Transportation Department says it is requiring ConocoPhillips to submit a new plan before allowing the oil company to send a second giant truckload of refinery equipment after the first caused a 59-minute traffic delay at a sharp curve on U.S. Highway 12. Article: http://www.kxly.com/news/26745699/detail.html

Feb. 5 -- Snowy roads, traffic delay violations stall ConocoPhillips megaloads (Missoulian) Big trouble for a big rig in Idaho: There's snow on Lolo Pass and non-moving violations below ... Inclement midwinter weather stalled CP's first megaload ...for the second night. Meanwhile, Conoco's moving company, Emmert International, was scrambling to come up with a new plan for a particularly winding stretch of U.S. Highway 12 on which traffic was held up 10 times for more than 15 minutes ... earlier this week. Article:http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_b2f65056-307a-11e0-8332-001cc4c002e0.html

Feb. 10 Megaload crawling toward Montana; Weather, other issues are causing journey to take longer than planned (Lewiston Tribune)

Feb. 12 -- ITD News Release: Saturday, February 12, 2011, ConocoPhillips shipment on U.S. 12 safely reaches Idaho/Montana border

INTERESTING NEW DEVELOPMENTS TAKE PLACE CONCERNING IMPERIAL OIL MEGALOADS:

Feb. 15 - When questioned by concerned citizens about the use of Highway 12 for such massive loads, Imperial Oil spokesmen as well as Governor Otter insisted that these loads could not be made any smaller and that Highway 12 was the only option to transport this equipment. Imperial/Exxon is now doing what they previously said was impossible by downsizing some of their loads and diverting other loads onto interstates. Read the stories here:

Imperial Oil downsizing megaloads at Port of Lewiston. http://www.klewtv.com/news/116282134.html

Massive Refinery Parts En Route to Kearl ProjectImperial/Exxon has begun diverting some megaloads onto Washington Interstates. Read the story originally printed in the Lewiston Tribune here:
http://www.downstreamtoday.com/news/article.aspx?a_id=25689&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

MegaLoad Opponenets Protest Rally

On Saturday, Jan. 29th, approximately 120 megaload opponents protested at a rally that spanned Memorial Bridge along U.S.12 in Lewiston, Idaho. Protesters also carried their banners and signs to the Port of Lewiston, where the photo above was taken in front of the ConocoPhillips' coke drums. Although there was a pro-megaload group on the bridge at the same time, there were only 9 people in that group, and some among our 120 held a "Paid for by Big Oil" sign over their heads.

Crossroads

ITD ignored the concerns of local residents when it issued permits to ConocoPhillips earlier this week to transport 4 super-sized loads along Highway 12. The earliest the loads could roll is Feb. 1st, but the 13 intervenors, who for the past 5 1/2 months have been challenging the permitting of the shipments, are currently considering their next legal step.


The Missoula Independent recently published a comprehensive article on the mega-load issue titled 'Crossroads'. The story covers local opposition in both Idaho and Montana and addresses the issue of creating a permanent high and wide corridor between Pacific Rim nations and the Alberta Tar Sands.

Please read the full story here:
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/gyrobase/crossroads/Content?oid=1371483&showFullText=true

Date, Time & Place of Contested Case Hearing

The contested case hearing related to the ConocoPhillips' shipments will take place in Boise this coming week. Here are the details:

Date: Dec. 8-9th (not 8-10th, as earlier noted)

Time: 9:00 a.m. each day

Where: Grove Hotel, Evergreen Room, 2nd Floor
245 So. Capitol Boulevard, Boise
Testimony will be taken from called witnesses only, not from the audience.


More Lolo Pass Megaloads Opponents EmergeNew West
By Steve Bunk, 12-02-10 The three residents along US Highway 12 in northern Idaho who are involved in legal proceedings to halt proposed megaloads of oil ...
Read More:
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/more_lolo_pass_megaloads_opponents_emerge_idaho_montana/C35/L35/

Upcoming Dates

Idaho Transportation Director Schedules Highway 12 Hearings
The contested case hearings are scheduled for Boise, December 8th and 9th, time and place yet to be determined. Merlyn Clark will continue to serve as hearing officer. The hearing is open to the public. Both sides in the case will present arguments and call witnesses to testify. No public comments from the floor will be taken.


Read more:

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=8091

Film about Highway 12 to be shown at Wilma Dec. 2nd, 7pm Local filmmaker Holly Schroeder will introduce "Big Rigs," her look at the nascent industrial corridor planned for the wild and scenic river corridor through Idaho and through Missoula all the way to Alberta's tar sands country. The film will be aired as part of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival Dec 2, at 7 p.m., at the Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula. Read more:

http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/article.php/20101122154901747

End Of November Mega-Load Update

The latest news on the mega-load issue includes the ruling, by hearing officer Merlyn Clark, in favor of highway 12 residents, Candian Steel Workers Union upset about lost manufacturing jobs as well as the uncovering of a report backing the Kearl mega-loads that MDT denies is from their agency. Here are the links:

Ruling: ITD must hear from megaload opponents
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/nov/24/ruling-itd-must-hear-megaload-opponents

MDT says 'ghost' report backing Kearl big rigs isn't from agency
http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_3bb59d74-faa8-11df-90ef-001cc4c03286.html

Attorneys pour over state Department of Transportation big rig documents
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_d66f6f62-faa7-11df-be72-001cc4c03286.html

Highway 12 megaloads: Union questions why oilfield modules were built in South Korea
http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_42ec429e-f8e8-11df-a091-001cc4c002e0.html

News of Friday's Hearing and CBC Radio Program

Merlyn Clark, the hearing officer noted that the contested case before him was limited to the 4 ConocoPhillips' shipments and not the 207 Imperial Oil shipments or the "high and wide" corridor. This latter point was debated as the lawyers presented their arguments.

Clark said he would issue a "proposed" decision prior to Thanksgiving. That decision will serve, in effect, as a "recommendation." Then, there will likely be a response period prior to a final decision.

The CP coke drums will not leave the Port of Lewiston at least until that final decision is rendered.

For more information on the hearing that took place on Friday in Boise see New West’s article:

Attorneys square off in court over hauling massive refinery equipment from Lewiston to Billings by Steve Bunk, 11-19-10
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/hearing_officer_expect_lolo_pass_megaloads_decision_by_thanksgiving/C37/L37/
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will be running a radio story on the U.S. 12 megaload issue by reporter Jennifer Keene this week. She came to Clearwater country about 3 weeks ago to interview, record and see for herself how the megaload issue fits into the larger oil sands issue. To listen, click here: http://www.cbc.ca/calgary/
The megaload story is part of a series on the oil sands, Wednesday – Friday

Award-Winning Journalist Speaks up for Highway 12

NAOMI KLEIN, award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the New York Times and #1 international bestseller, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, speaks out against the use of Highway 12 by mega-loads shipments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztgkGdS2plw&feature=player_embedded


Other Highway News:
- As of yesterday, there was snow on Lolo Pass.
- As of Sunday both lanes in the Mile 136 diesel spill area were open to traffic.
- As of Tuesday a second ConocoPhillips drum had been set up on stands
(trailer removed) in a lot adjacent to the Port of Lewiston, while the other two
drums remained on trailers at the back of the port lot.
- A Journal of Commerce Oct. 27th report indicates that more Imperial Oil modules
will arrive at the port this week.
- No response to date from ITD regarding the request for a contested case hearing
prior to permitting of the Imperial Oil shipments