<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div class="heading"><h2 class="entry-title">Moscow's megaload embrace gets muscular</h2>
</div>
<div class="authorInfo">
<ul><li><em class="updated" title="2011-05-25T00:00:00-07:00">May 25th, 2011</em></li></ul>
<strong>
By <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn">Marty Trillhaase</span></span> of the <span class="source-org vcard"><span class="org fn">Tribune</span></span>
</strong>
</div>
<div class="text-content-holder entry-content">
<div class="image-holder-l" style="clear: left;margin-top: 15px;">
</div>
<div>
There are many unwritten laws in the game of politics, but one rule trumps all others: </div>
<div>
Self-preservation. </div>
<div>
Breaking that fundamental commandment for a selfless cause might get you a chapter in "Profiles in Courage." </div>
<div>
Doing so on behalf of moving mega-<br>loads through your downtown? </div>
<div>
Not so much. </div>
<div>
Pulling an end run around Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney,
Councilors Walter Steed, Wayne Krauss, Tim Brown and Dan Carscallen
recently voted to embrace Exxon/Mobil's plans to roll 60 megaloads
through downtown Moscow. </div>
<div>
Facing mounting delays in its plan to move 200 of the behemoth transports across U.S. Highway 12 toward the <br>Kearl
Oil Sands project in Alberta, Canada, Exxon/Mobil is spending $500,000 a
piece to cut some of its loads down to a size small enough to travel
U.S. Highway 95 to Coeur d'Alene and then across Montana on Interstate
90. </div>
<div>
The mayor had heartburn over that. So did most of the people speaking at a May 11 forum. </div>
<div>
Chaney planned to run a resolution urging the Idaho
Transportation Department to block the Moscow-bound megaloads. </div>
<div>
Nothing doing, said Steed. Armed with his own majority, Steed
passed a measure stating the council "does not believe the movement of
the proposed megaloads in the city of Moscow will have an inordinate
impact on infrastructure or community. ... Furthermore, we invite and
encourage Exxon/Mobil and their hauler to utilize Moscow as their
stopover for motels and the purchase of food, fuel and other supplies"
as they move north through the community. </div>
<div>
Never mind that big oil is this summer's economic villain,
squeezing recession-battered consumers pretty ruthlessly at the gasoline
pump. </div>
<div>
Never mind that the megaload saga often makes ordinary people
feel invisible. Residents throughout north central Idaho discovered the
scope of the megaload project years after their governor and
congressional delegation had endorsed the plan. </div>
<div>
Never mind that ExxonMobil has not formally asked Idaho
Transportation Department for the permit to begin hauling these smaller
loads up U.S. 95 and across I-90. What's the rush? </div>
<div>
And never mind that every time a group of people - whether it
be elected officials in Montana, residents of the Kamiah area or
environmental groups - had challenged the project, it inevitably
produced a more thoughtful review process and more detailed oversight.
</div>
<div>
In this case, Steed and company have decided not to wait for the verdict. </div>
<div>
All of which means they now own the issue. </div>
<div>
If the ongoing megaload traffic ultimately damages Moscow's
storm sewers or some aspect of its streets, critics won't go to Chaney.
</div>
<div>
If Moscow residents wake up one morning to find their street
trees stripped to make room for the megaloads, they won't call the
mayor. </div>
<div>
Peeved at being awakened by the noise and vibration of a
megaload convoy coming down Washington Street in the early morning
hours? </div>
<div>
Wondering how shipments 24 feet wide, 210 feet long and 30
feet high can traverse one of Moscow's main drags while it's filled with
college students exiting the town's closing night clubs? </div>
<div>
Concerned for people coming into Moscow from either the
northern or southern entrance when these loads are blocking the path?
</div>
<div>
Skeptical that the city can simultaneously accommodate both megaloads and emergency responders? </div>
<div>
Looking up Chaney's extension won't help. </div>
<div>
Call the council. </div>
<div>
Better yet, ask for Krauss and Carscallen. Unlike Steed,
Brown or even Chaney, they're up for re-election in little more than
five months. </div>
<div>
Which makes their eagerness to embrace a matter that earns
politicians enemies but few friends curious. The last thing you'd expect
from either Krauss and Carscallen is precisely the vote they cast.
</div>
<div>
Go figure. - M.T. </div>
</div></div></body></html>