[Vision2020] Mega-load Hearing Draws Crowd

[Tom Hansen]

"Frew testified that he erred when he wrote in ITD’s memorandum of
decision that the loads would travel at a maximum speed of 25 mph and an
average of 15 mph. Actually, he said, they can go whatever speed they
want, and Emmert says they’ll go faster. 'I expect them to maintain a safe
speed, whatever that is,' Frew said."

Courtesy of today's (December 9, 2010) Spokesman-Review.

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Mega-load hearing draws crowd
Chance of a spill ‘not even one in a million’
Betsy Z. Russell

The Spokesman-Review  Tags: ConocoPhillips Highway 12 megaloads mega-loads
Northwest Passage Scenic Byway
BOISE – A crowd of more than 100 looked on Wednesday as a hearing in Boise
brought out lots of new twists in the tale of the mega-loads of oil
equipment proposed to travel along scenic U.S. Highway 12 in north-central
Idaho.

The hearing focused on four loads proposed by ConocoPhillips to travel
from the Port of Lewiston to its Billings refinery. Looming over the plan
is a much larger proposal from ExxonMobil to send 207 mega-loads over the
same route and up to Canada over the next year, and another from a Korean
firm for dozens more mega-loads starting next spring.

Testimony, arguments and cross-examination will continue today; here’s
some of what came out Wednesday:

• Now there are 13: Ten new plaintiffs, who live, work or do business
along the route the giant loads would travel, taking up both lanes of the
two-lane road, joined the three who filed the original suit to stop the
loads.

• Notable loads: Emmert International, the Clackamas, Ore., trucking
company hired by ConocoPhillips, has handled some famous big loads: Howard
Hughes’ “Spruce Goose” airplane and the Hubble telescope. Attorney Erik
Stidham said Conoco “hired the best in the business” to move the loads.

• ‘No guarantee’: ConocoPhillips shipped its loads from Japan to the Port
of Lewiston without knowing if it’d get permits to truck them to Billings,
testified Alan Frew, Idaho Transportation Department motor vehicles
administrator. “There was no guarantee. There were probably some informal
assurances given that the weights look good based on what we had seen so
far. But we were a long way from approving this.”

• Wary of ‘nuts’: In its proposed permits for the ConocoPhillips loads,
ITD calls for barricading turnouts along the twisting, narrow route for 24
hours before loads arrive. Why? Because, Frew said, the agency’s heard
that “nuts” plan to protest the shipments and possibly try to block
traffic. “But it’s not going to just affect the nuts,” responded attorney
Laird Lucas, who represents the loads’ opponents; the barricades will
affect “anyone who travels Highway 12.”

• Safe at any speed: Frew testified that he erred when he wrote in ITD’s
memorandum of decision that the loads would travel at a maximum speed of
25 mph and an average of 15 mph. Actually, he said, they can go whatever
speed they want, and Emmert says they’ll go faster. “I expect them to
maintain a safe speed, whatever that is,” Frew said.

• ‘A month or two’: Idaho Transportation Department District 2 maintenance
engineer Doral Hoff testified that if one of the loads goes into the
river, it could take “up to a month or two months” to get it out, and it’d
be difficult and complicated to do. But, he said, “We’re confident it
won’t go into the river.”

• Grumbles from crowd: Frew said he thought there was “probably not even
one in a million chance that this load will end up in the river,” but
acknowledged ITD didn’t look into the chances of an accident. Lucas
responded, “We heard from the oil industry that drilling in the Gulf was
perfectly safe,” at which point he was suddenly drowned out by loud
grumbling from the crowd – including dozens of ConocoPhillips Billings
refinery employees – and multiple objections from attorneys for Conoco and
ITD. The objections were upheld and Lucas was advised to stick to Highway
12.

• Public comments: ITD public involvement coordinator Adam Rush, under
questioning from attorney Natalie Havlina, said ITD received 700 to 800
public comments, plus a petition over the summer opposing the mega-loads
with signatures from about 3,000 people. Asked if he’d solicited public
comments about the mega-loads proposals, Rush said, “Comments weren’t
officially solicited. We received many from folks and responded to them.”

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For more information concerning this issue, visit:

http://www.MoscowCares.com/HIghway12

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown