Tar Sands Haul

Kearle Module Transportation Project

Megaloads Lawsuit:

MEIC, along with Missoula County, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club, have filed suit against the Montana Department of Transportation regarding the Megaloads. You can read the complaint here.

LATEST NEWS:

Schweitzer says Exxon should build megaloads in Montana (Great Falls Tribune, by John Adams, Friday, June 24, 2011)
Megaloads could skip U.S. on rail-truck Canada route (The Spokesman-Review, by Betsy Russell, Thursday, May 26, 2011).
Test module hits wire, cuts power to 1,300 homes (Missoulian, by Kim Briggeman, Wednesday, April 13, 2011).
Environmental Groups Sue over Megaloads (Helena Independent Record, by Eve Byron, Saturday, April 2, 2011).
Missoula/Lolo Megaloads Rally - Stand Up For Montana, on Feb. 6, 2011 (All Against the Haul).
From Economic Optimism to Outright Opposition, Big Oil's Proposed Heavy Haul has Divided Cities and Towns Along the Route (Missoula Independent, by Alex Sakariassen, January 20, 2011).
ITD to Let Conoco Megaloads Roll Feb. 1 (The Spokesman-Review, by Betsy Russell, January 18, 2011).
Idaho, Montana Megaloads Worry Forest Service (Flathead Beacon, Associated Press, January 16, 2011).
MISSOULA JOURNAL: Along a Course of Purling Rivers, a Raw Divide (New York Times, by Jim Robbins, Dec. 11, 2010).
Contentious megaloads hearing wraps up (The Spokesman-Review, Dec. 9, 2010).

MASSIVE TAR SANDS MINING EQUIPMENT TO BE MOVED THROUGH MONTANA TO ALBERTA

(August 2010) There’s a lot at stake.

If the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) gives the nod, some of Montana’s most scenic by-ways could become permanent corridors for multi-billion dollar oil companies who would opt for this cheaper way to haul loads of oversized equipment.

Follow the proposed route of Conoco and Exxon here.

MDT director Jim Lynch has said that his agency will decide by early September whether an environmental assessment (EA) for Imperial Oil’s (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil) proposed Kearl Module Transportation Project (KMTP) is adequate, or whether the agency will produce a more thorough environmental impact statement (EIS). If MDT determines that the EA is adequate, it will issue a permit to Imperial Oil to transport more than 200 convoys of massive tar sands mining equipment through western Montana this fall.

Click here to read the EA.

Most of this equipment is three-quarters the length of a football field and weighs almost 400,000 pounds (see diagram, page 4). These massive “modules” will creep along a route that includes narrow two-lane highways over Lolo Pass and along the Blackfoot River and the Rocky Mountain Front before crossing into Alberta (see map, below, or interactive version here).

MDT had initially expected to make a decision on the project in June 2010, but postponed doing so because of the overwhelming number of public comments it received. Most of the comments urged the agency to prepare an EIS for the project, because the EA failed to identify all the potential environmental impacts. (Read the Missoula City Council resolution calling for an EIS for the project.) MDT also failed to consult with necessary parties including tribal governments, and failed to thoroughly evaluate reasonable alternative transportation routes. It is clear an EIS, which requires a much more thorough analysis than an EA, is imperative for this project.

MDT and Montana governor Brian Schweitzer have implied that an EA is adequate because the impacts of the KMTP will be limited to the 200 loads. But the EA itself states that it is “reasonably foreseeable” that this project will facilitate movement of other types of oversized equipment in the future. The proposed turnouts and hundreds of utility line relocations could turn scenic U.S. Highway 12 and Montana Highway 200 into permanent industrial “high and wide” corridors.

Mining in the Alberta tar sands is expected to continue for at least five decades. If the KMTP is permitted, it is likely that Imperial Oil will use the route through Montana until the last bit of tar sands oil has been extracted.

What are the impacts of tar sands mining?

Idaho Supreme Court vacates ruling on mega-loads

On November 1st, 2010, the Idaho Supreme Court voted 3-2 to vacate an Idaho district court ruling that had blocked ConocoPhillips from moving four mega-loads from Lewiston, ID, to Billings, MT. The court said that it did not need to make a ruling in the case, because the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) had not yet issued a permit to ConocoPhillips. While the court’s decision did not address the merits in the case, it should make possible more public involvement in ITD’s permitting process for the massive loads. These four shipments are separate from Imperial/Exxon’s more than 200 proposed shipments, but if ITD grants a permit for the four, it would set a precedent for the other shipments.

SEE ALSO: Judge denies issuance of permit allowing mega-loads on Highway 12 (August 24, 2010)

IN THE NEWS:

Canadian diplomats sought help from U.S. oil companies (BY MIKE DE SOUZA, POSTMEDIA NEWS NOVEMBER 29, 2010) Canadian diplomats in Washington have quietly asked such oil-industry players as Exxon Mobil and BP to help "kill" U.S. global-warming policies in order to ensure that "the oil keeps a-flowing" from Alberta into the U.S. marketplace, Postmedia News has learned. Read more.
MDT says 'ghost' report backing Kearl big rigs isn't from agency (November 28, 2010)
Idaho court tosses mega-loads challenge (The Spokesman-Review, November 1, 2010) "...the court’s highly technical decision may mean more public hearings and other steps before the giant truckloads could roll." Read entire article.
Idaho Shortcut Stalls Global Trek; Shipment of Oil Gear From Korea to Canada Hits Objections to Huge Loads on Rural U.S. Highway (Wall Street Journal, October 2, 1010) Includes links to court documents and slide show.
Oil Sands Effort Turns on a Fight Over a Road (The New York Times, October 21, 2010)
Contract reveals long term plan for oversized shipments on U.S. 12 (10/14/2010) ExxonMobil is planning to ship oversized modules on U.S. 12 along the winding route over Lolo Pass for the next decade according to the Korean manufacturer of the modules...
Third oil company eyes big loads for Montana, Idaho
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • OCTOBER 9, 2010
Standing in the Way: How One Idaho Couple Plans to Stop Big Oil’s Big Rigs, Part 1 (October 7, 2010) Contains links to actual letters from Idaho's governor and congressional delegation showing their approval of the project in early 2009.
Lolo National Forest taking comments on power line burial for big rigs (August 28, 2010) Read story
Missoula County commissioners prepared to sue to stop big rig shipments (August 27, 2010)
Judge denies issuance of permit allowing mega-loads on Highway 12 (August 24, 2010)

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Read MEIC and Sierra Club’s joint comments to the Montana Dept. of Transportation on this issue

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	You are here: Home → Energy → Global Warming → Tar sands haul Document Actions Tar Sands Haul Kearle Module Transportation Project Megaloads Lawsuit: MEIC, along with Missoula County, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club, have filed suit against the Montana Department of Transportation regarding the Megaloads. You can read the complaint here. LATEST NEWS: Schweitzer says Exxon should build megaloads in Montana (Great Falls Tribune, by John Adams, Friday, June 24, 2011) Megaloads could skip U.S. on rail-truck Canada route (The Spokesman-Review, by Betsy Russell, Thursday, May 26, 2011). Test module hits wire, cuts power to 1,300 homes (Missoulian, by Kim Briggeman, Wednesday, April 13, 2011). Environmental Groups Sue over Megaloads (Helena Independent Record, by Eve Byron, Saturday, April 2, 2011). Missoula/Lolo Megaloads Rally - Stand Up For Montana, on Feb. 6, 2011 (All Against the Haul). From Economic Optimism to Outright Opposition, Big Oil's Proposed Heavy Haul has Divided Cities and Towns Along the Route (Missoula Independent, by Alex Sakariassen, January 20, 2011). ITD to Let Conoco Megaloads Roll Feb. 1 (The Spokesman-Review, by Betsy Russell, January 18, 2011). Idaho, Montana Megaloads Worry Forest Service (Flathead Beacon, Associated Press, January 16, 2011). MISSOULA JOURNAL: Along a Course of Purling Rivers, a Raw Divide (New York Times, by Jim Robbins, Dec. 11, 2010). Contentious megaloads hearing wraps up (The Spokesman-Review, Dec. 9, 2010). MASSIVE TAR SANDS MINING EQUIPMENT TO BE MOVED THROUGH MONTANA TO ALBERTA (August 2010) There’s a lot at stake. If the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) gives the nod, some of Montana’s most scenic by-ways could become permanent corridors for multi-billion dollar oil companies who would opt for this cheaper way to haul loads of oversized equipment. Follow the proposed route of Conoco and Exxon here. MDT director Jim Lynch has said that his agency will decide by early September whether an environmental assessment (EA) for Imperial Oil’s (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil) proposed Kearl Module Transportation Project (KMTP) is adequate, or whether the agency will produce a more thorough environmental impact statement (EIS). If MDT determines that the EA is adequate, it will issue a permit to Imperial Oil to transport more than 200 convoys of massive tar sands mining equipment through western Montana this fall. Click here to read the EA. Most of this equipment is three-quarters the length of a football field and weighs almost 400,000 pounds (see diagram, page 4). These massive “modules” will creep along a route that includes narrow two-lane highways over Lolo Pass and along the Blackfoot River and the Rocky Mountain Front before crossing into Alberta (see map, below, or interactive version here). MDT had initially expected to make a decision on the project in June 2010, but postponed doing so because of the overwhelming number of public comments it received. Most of the comments urged the agency to prepare an EIS for the project, because the EA failed to identify all the potential environmental impacts. (Read the Missoula City Council resolution calling for an EIS for the project.) MDT also failed to consult with necessary parties including tribal governments, and failed to thoroughly evaluate reasonable alternative transportation routes. It is clear an EIS, which requires a much more thorough analysis than an EA, is imperative for this project. MDT and Montana governor Brian Schweitzer have implied that an EA is adequate because the impacts of the KMTP will be limited to the 200 loads. But the EA itself states that it is “reasonably foreseeable” that this project will facilitate movement of other types of oversized equipment in the future. The proposed turnouts and hundreds of utility line relocations could turn scenic U.S. Highway 12 and Montana Highway 200 into permanent industrial “high and wide” corridors. Mining in the Alberta tar sands is expected to continue for at least five decades. If the KMTP is permitted, it is likely that Imperial Oil will use the route through Montana until the last bit of tar sands oil has been extracted. *What are the impacts of tar sands mining?* Idaho Supreme Court vacates ruling on mega-loads On November 1st, 2010, the Idaho Supreme Court voted 3-2 to vacate an Idaho district court ruling that had blocked ConocoPhillips from moving four mega-loads from Lewiston, ID, to Billings, MT. The court said that it did not need to make a ruling in the case, because the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) had not yet issued a permit to ConocoPhillips. While the court’s decision did not address the merits in the case, it should make possible more public involvement in ITD’s permitting process for the massive loads. These four shipments are separate from Imperial/Exxon’s more than 200 proposed shipments, but if ITD grants a permit for the four, it would set a precedent for the other shipments. SEE ALSO: Judge denies issuance of permit allowing mega-loads on Highway 12 (August 24, 2010) IN THE NEWS: Canadian diplomats sought help from U.S. oil companies (BY MIKE DE SOUZA, POSTMEDIA NEWS NOVEMBER 29, 2010) Canadian diplomats in Washington have quietly asked such oil-industry players as Exxon Mobil and BP to help "kill" U.S. global-warming policies in order to ensure that "the oil keeps a-flowing" from Alberta into the U.S. marketplace, Postmedia News has learned. Read more. MDT says 'ghost' report backing Kearl big rigs isn't from agency (November 28, 2010) Idaho court tosses mega-loads challenge (The Spokesman-Review, November 1, 2010) "...the court’s highly technical decision may mean more public hearings and other steps before the giant truckloads could roll." Read entire article. Idaho Shortcut Stalls Global Trek; Shipment of Oil Gear From Korea to Canada Hits Objections to Huge Loads on Rural U.S. Highway (Wall Street Journal, October 2, 1010) Includes links to court documents and slide show. Oil Sands Effort Turns on a Fight Over a Road (The New York Times, October 21, 2010) Contract reveals long term plan for oversized shipments on U.S. 12 (10/14/2010) ExxonMobil is planning to ship oversized modules on U.S. 12 along the winding route over Lolo Pass for the next decade according to the Korean manufacturer of the modules... Third oil company eyes big loads for Montana, Idaho THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • OCTOBER 9, 2010 Standing in the Way: How One Idaho Couple Plans to Stop Big Oil’s Big Rigs, Part 1 (October 7, 2010) Contains links to actual letters from Idaho's governor and congressional delegation showing their approval of the project in early 2009. Lolo National Forest taking comments on power line burial for big rigs (August 28, 2010) Read story Missoula County commissioners prepared to sue to stop big rig shipments (August 27, 2010) Judge denies issuance of permit allowing mega-loads on Highway 12 (August 24, 2010) FOR MORE INFORMATION Read MEIC and Sierra Club’s joint comments to the Montana Dept. of Transportation on this issue Montana Environmental Information Center Street Address: 107 W Lawrence St. #N-6, Helena, MT 59601 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1184 Helena, MT 59624 Phone: (406) 443-2520, Fax: (406) 443-2507, meic@meic.org	Stay Connected Facebook Twitter Blog YouTube

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