March Megaload News

Recent Megaload News:

Thursday night Omega Morgan/GE megaload #3 was blocked on Reserve Street in Missoula, Montana by about 80 protesters.  To-date OM #3 has been trudging along for no fewer than 34 days.  

Missoula women arrested during megaload protest, Missoulian, 3/21/14

The women...joined members of Indian Peoples Action, Northern Rockies Rising Tide and the Blue Skies Campaign in...bringing the shipment to a stop for about 20 minutes...  Indian People's Action... released a statement saying, “We are standing in solidarity with our cousins of the Nez Perce tribe, the Umatilla, and the cousins to the north whose lives are being drastically affected by the destructive nature of the needless extraction of tar sands. This is leaving the land uninhabitable and our people with no place to go.”...  Read more.

Keystone XL in the News:

On April 22nd, a group of ranchers, farmers and tribal communities from along the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline route, called the Cowboy Indian Alliance, will ride into Washington DC...  On April 27th, thousands...will join them to stand together for a final message that the Keystone XL pipeline and the tar sands must be rejected...  See more and join the march here.

'Cowboy Indian Alliance' will ride to D.C. for 'Reject And Protect' Keystone XL Protest, Brianna Elliott, Huffington Post, 3/11/14...  

This rally gives a voice to the communities that would be most impacted by Keystone XL, and their message is clear -- to protect land, water and climate now and for future generations. The Keystone XL would cross several rivers and the Ogallala Aquifer, which would put wildlife, public water supplies and croplands in danger if a spill were to occur...  Activists have mounted increasing pressure on the Obama administration to reject the project, delivering over two million comments on March 7 following a series of mass arrests in front of the White House...  Read more.

Another firm that evaluated Keystone for State Department had ties to TransCanada, Huffington Post, 3/13/14...  The contractor that evaluated greenhouse gas emissions for the State Department's Keystone XL report is the latest company to come under fire for its ties to TransCanada, the prospective builder of the controversial pipeline...  Read more.

Permission for Megaloads Ignored Nez Perce Treaty Rights

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/09/08/2748910/permission-for-megaloads-ignored.html#storylink=cp

". . .This road along the Nez Perce trail is incomparable in its beauty, as well as its cultural value to the Nez Perce people. Its historical and cultural importance to the U.S. public is extraordinary. People who travel this route can feel its immense intrinsic value; the state of Idaho touts the unique nature and appeal of this corridor for tourism and recreation.

However, some Canadian and outside interests look at this route and see dollar signs in transport savings — for them. We are told of the wonderful opportunities of commerce this will bring.

The Nez Perce Tribe knows better. We have heard similar promises before. The travel of more than 1,000 of these megaloads, as is rumored, through one of the most pristine and spectacular areas in America is not genuine commerce. It is your Wall Street neighbor driving across your lawn, so that he can get to work five minutes faster and make a little more money — for him.*

The tribe has made its position on this issue known to the United States and the state of Idaho. The tribe has been ignored by the outside interests who will reap profits at the expense of the region’s resources. This exclusion led to frustration that spilled over into acts of civil disobedience so the tribal voice was heard. The tribe refuses to be excluded any longer. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday in U.S. District Court, Boise. ..."

Read the full article written by Silas C. Whitman, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, in the Idaho Statesman.

If you'll be in Boise on Monday, September 9th please consider attending the Nez Perce Tribe Rally 
on the west steps of the State Capitol at 1pm 
as well as the megaload injunction hearing at 4:30 p.m.
at the Federal Courthouse, 550 W. Fort Street, Boise

*Emphasis on this statement added for the purpose of this blog and is not printed this way in the Idaho Statesman.

Mega-Letters to the Editor

Balance Needed in Megaload Debate, by Syringa resident Owen Fiore

Idaho County Commissioner...Jim Chmelik claims not to understand the Nez Perce Tribe's opposition to the "Megaloads"... His emphasis on the alledged economic advantages of this "over-the-top" level of commerce fails to take into account our Idaho environment, applicable federal law and the clear opposition of many Idahoans to destruction of the Highway 12 Wild & Scenic corridor.

Mr. Chmelik should look to his duty to represent fairly all his constituents...rather than...capitulating to the unreasonable demands of commercial Big Oil interests and their transport companies.  In addition, Commissioner Chmelik claims that the State's road easement is absolute; but this is far from the truth.  The easement always has been, and remains, subject to Federal laws for protection of the environment, including the Wild & Scenic Corridor Act.  Therefore, Idaho Rivers United and the Nez Perce Tribe are seeking an injunction to force the U.S. Forest Service to fully exercise its already determined jurisdiction to review and to regulate commerce over Highway 12.

None of the opponents of the Megaloads threat to Highway 12 opposes the ordinary and reasonable highway commerce that travels this road every day without concern or opposition.  But...Highway 12 was never intended to be used for the "high, wide, heavy and intrusive" travel represented by the Megaloads... It would be helpful if our politicians would do more than merely support the Megaloads, especially since the economic benefits to Idaho County must be offset by consideration of the loss of tourism, damage to the environment we love and enjoy, and undue interference with the relative peace and quiet which brought us here.

Making closed-door deals, by Peck resident Win Green

All the buzz and controversy about megaloads has captured the attention of many...  Big business claims it will lose millions of dollars if it cannot use U.S.Highway 12.  Well,...when any private company makes business decisions that smack of closed-door agreements with state politicians, leaving most citizens out, they do so at their own peril. The citizens of north central Idaho owe absolutely nothing to these guys.  Under the ruse of creating jobs and economic growth, they pretend to be helping us.  It appears they have even hoodwinked many of our local politicians...  short-sighted people would destroy what many enjoy here.

Standing up to megaloads, by Kamiah resident Ken Jones

... I would like to praise the Nez Perce Tribal Council, the Friends of the Clearwater, and all tribal members who stood up to the megaloads.  Also those individuals that wrote letters opposing the megaloads...  When I read letters supporting the megaloads, it makes me sick...  Many of them only see money as the solution to everything, including destroying the beauty of scenic drives and the environmental sensitivity of the area....  I hope the Nez Perce Tribe will continue its efforts to stop the megaloads and prove we have say and rights on our reservation...  It's obvious the...Tribe has plenty of support.

Pity General Electric, by Orofino resident Jill Lynch

...poor, poor General Electric...  That megacoporation will lose a few million bucks if it can't push its megaloads through the U.S. Highway 12 corridor against the court ruling...  What a cruel, unfair and so unpredictable limit to face on the way to jamming its megapower up our noses or other unmentionable parts.  It should have planned another route until it knew the new rules...  threatening that our "lights will be turned off" sounds like a kid who isn't allowed to eat all the candy before dinner.  Meals, gasoline (mostly profit for oil companies) and temporary jobs for police won't make or break the local economy.  I've seen no local permanent jobs in the projections...  Commercial use does not mean commercial abuse...

We protest, by Moscow resident Sam Finch

Protesting the status quo is progress.  Anti-progress is letting foreighn state corporations, Gov...Otter and international oil interests violate federal law to use our country's wild and scenic rivers as a doormat... The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was designed to protect the shrinking number of free-flowing rivers in our country...  We do not protest megaloads because we want to close Highway 12 to every car and end commerce...  We protest to protect wild and scenic rivers for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations...  We protest our country's excessive use of fossil fuels...  We protest to uphold the Nez Perce Tribe's rights...

Megaloads: Force companies to be honest about their intentions, by Tucson, Arizona, resident Lori Scott

While visiting relatives in Missoula, I noticed that the megaload of a supposedly water purification unit was passing through. I decided to...take a photo...  When we tried to get closer to show the scale of the load next to a human being, a security person appeared, and shouted, “Don’t step off the pavement! That’s raw sewage there!“

As I looked around for signs of this...I could only conclude that raw sewage is also being trucked through Montana on these beautiful but narrow roads, or the oil companies are once again manipulating the truth about their activities.  I hope that the media and a small but vocal group of protesters can at least force them to be honest about their intentions and to treat inquiring citizens as just that, people who want to protect the land they love.

General Electric Files to Intervene in Federal Megaloads Court Case

8/27/2013

Press Release - GE petitions to intervene in megaloads case.pdf

BOISE — General Electric, the fourth largest corporation in the world, has petitioned to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by Idaho Rivers United and the Nez Perce Tribe. The suit seeks to protect the Lochsa-Clearwater Wild and Scenic River corridor from transport of enormous industrial megaloads bound for the tar sands of northern Alberta. “GE’s intervention shows how desperately the oil industry and their contractors want to convert one of America’s first Wild and Scenic River corridors into an industrial highway,” said IRU Conservation Director Kevin Lewis. “We need to have this discussion. They need to know the Lochsa-Clearwater is a national treasure, not an industrial corridor.” Citing “significant financial impact” and the potential to suffer “millions of dollars in lost revenue,” General Electric’s attorneys filed in federal court Monday, Aug. 26. The court scheduled a hearing for Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. at the federal courthouse in Boise. Though GE is citing potential financial losses, the company has known its shipments would meet resistance since at least last April, long before it barged megaloads up the lower Snake River and equipped them for transport through the Wild and Scenic corridor. In an April 4 letter, IRU’s attorney, Laird Lucas, relayed to industrial shipper Omega Morgan that use of Highway 12 violated multiple legal authorities and would be strongly opposed. “Resistance to mega-load shipments on Idaho’s Highway 12 remains strong, both among local citizens and among the many organizations committed to protecting the route,” Lucas wrote. “The strength of this opposition can increase both the time necessary to transport equipment on Highway 12 and the cost of this transport.” Still, Omega Morgan moved two GE-owned loads up the lower Snake River and trucked one through the Nez Perce Tribe’s reservation and the Wild and Scenic corridor, where the company met significant tribal and citizen resistance. “They set themselves up for this,” Lewis said. “They created this conflict. This is a place that’s not for sale. It doesn’t have a price.” Filed Aug. 8 during the shipment of GE’s first load, the IRU and Nez Perce Tribe lawsuit seeks an injunction to protect one of the first Wild and Scenic River segments in the nation. It charges that the U.S. Forest Service’s failure to stop the megaload from entering the Wild and Scenic corridor was “arbitrary, capricious, (and) an abuse of discretion.” The injunction would prevent megaloads while the Forest Service implements regulations to protect the corridor. “It’s obvious the Forest Service ought to be joining us and not GE,” Lewis said. Since the fall of 2008, the oil industry and a specialized group of shipping companies have been working to convert U.S. Highway 12 into an industrial high-and-wide corridor that prioritizes the transport of megaloads over other uses of the highway. And they’ve been doing so in flagrant violation of all applicable legal authorities. “To be clear, IRU is not anti-corporate. Some of our best supporters are large and responsible corporations like AIRE and Patagonia,” Lewis said. “But this is a clear example of the world’s largest companies exploiting local highways, a federally protected river corridor, a tribal homeland and local residents to further their corporate profits. And they’re doing it at the expense of a spiritual, scenic and recreational national treasure.” Omega Morgan has agreed not to attempt moving another megaload, already being stored at the Port of Wilma near Lewiston, until Sept. 18.