Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Environment Idaho Rivers United Protest Mega-Loads in Boise
Posted by Kat Thornton on Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 4:12 PM
More than 50 people gathered on the steps of the State Capitol this afternoon, waiting to hand deliver letters to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter’s office protesting the hauling of what have become known simply as the mega-loads across U.S. Highway 12 by two large oil companies. It was all part of a campaign organized by Idaho Rivers United.
“Idaho Rivers United is not done with this battle,” said Bill Sedivy, executive director of IRU, to the crowd on the Statehouse steps.
The first of the mega-loads—massive equipment being transported from the Port of Lewiston, across Montana by ConocoPhillips—started rolling in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, but IRU and the protesters are focusing on the more than 200 loads being proposed by ExxonMobil.
“I feel like [Otter] sold-out Idaho,” said Marilyn Holty, a former North Idaho resident, after delivering her letter to Otter’s office.
Though supporters of the mega-loads claim that this will invigorate Idaho’s economy, residents like Hotly fear that Highway 12 will become a permanent corridor for the transport of gargantuan oil company machinery.
“Where the mega-loads are concerned, we’ve only just started, “ said Greg Stahl, assistant policy director of IRU. “This is the beginning of the long-term conversion of the highway into a high-and-wide trucking route.
“I want Gov. Otter to hear the hundreds of voices that are speaking out for more transparency in this sort of process,” he said as he prepared to deliver more than 100 letters from people who couldn’t be at the event to deliver them personally.
“I’ve had people from North Idaho e-mail me about today’s gathering, saying ‘we can’t be there, represent us,’” Boise resident Rejane Kosemba told citydesk.
In her own letter, she asked Otter to protect Idaho’s wildlife.
"He needs to protect Idaho and listen to the citizens of Idaho and not the big oil companies,” she said.
Comments (8)
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We need the jobs and money Idaho! Otter is doing what other politicians won't....do what's right for Idahoans. Do some research, Boise Weekly, on how much oil and gas will stimulate our economy....start with Wyoming, Montana, then North Dakota. Wouldn't a surplus be nice? My children need a real stimulus...oil and gas is the immediate answer. -jj
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To the commenter CSjj, you can't even articulate what exactly you're getting out of this deal. "Stimulus", "oil and gas", do these things manifest into anything in particular? Butch is leading you by the nose. We're also going to start storing nuclear waste near an aquifer that servies a quarter million people in Idaho with drinking water. Butch has been quite busy selling us out along with future generations. When asked what we get out of the nuclear waste deal, Butch said we get a library, which educates us on the storage. I wonder what he gets out of it...
It's very tragic, this governorship. My hope for Idahoans, is that they wake up.
How does a company just using a highway stimulate our economy? I believe the economy of Montana will be stimulated because that is where the equipment will be used. Trucks pulling stuff down the highway does not do a lot for us. Hec, maybe the drivers will stop and buy a sandwich along the way. Now that is a stimulus.
CSjj - Otter is doing what all politicians do - lining their pockets with contributions from lobbyists and big corporations while selling out the public at large. Idaho isn't getting any oil or gas out of this transportation proposal and they aren't getting any stimilus. We're subsidizing this proposal with tax payer dollars. The Port of Lewiston requested $11million from the feds for upgrades to the port in order to handle these new mega-loads - that's our money. I don't know how oil and gas are going to help your kids but I believe changing Highway 12 into an industrial oversized load corridor with rolling shutdowns and barricaded pullouts will cost all Idahoans in the future. Don't sell out your kids future in order to make some kind of imagined quick buck right now.
I stand corrected. I'd still like to see some of that oil money though. I agree on the politicians lining their pockets, but he seems to be doing some things I like. Better budget and smaller government seems positive.
The shipments have already been sitting in the Port of Lewiston for months, if Idaho is making so much money on them where's the turn around in the economy, and where are the jobs everyone keeps promising? One megaload is already creeping through the mountains, where's all the economic benefit from that? Flat out, we are the easiest, cheapest route for the big oil to transport their earth destroying equipment. That's the ONLY REASON they want the use of our ports and our roads, TO USE IDAHO. Meanwhile, Idaho loses, we lose tax dollars maintaining and repairing roads for the benefit of big oil companies, we lose tranquility and scenic attributes currently associated with the beautiful Route 12, and apparently, we've already lost the ability to be heard and well represented by our leaders who seek to prostitute our beautiful state for their own greedy benefit (can you say big oil campaign contribution?) Additionally, I hope all you supporters (all five of you) of the mega loads are also in favor of the mass environmental destruction created by the canadian tar sands, to which this mega load equipment will ultimately contribute, because your support only makes it easier and cheaper for big oil companies to rape the earth.
"Earth destroying equipment" "harm our wildlife" "changing Hwy. 12 into an industrial,oversized load corridor" Are ya'll kidding? Let's get rid of the dams. Let's use wind and solar instead. Let's quit utilizing oil and gas (even if we are an oil based economy). The moment you all have a wind generator and solar panels on your property making you COMPLETELY independant of outsourced energy needs, we can talk. Until then, please go back to your seat and let the class move on.
I live right in Orofino Idaho and have seen the mega loads go by late at night only because I'm a night owl. Everyone complaining about these mega loads is a bunch of bull. As far as I'm concerned everyone is complaining about it because they think it will be an ugly site. Who cares if its ugly, I have an old chevy van thats ugly too, are they gonna make me stop driving it? Or should I start driving it at 10-2 at night so that everyone doesn't complain about it being ugly or smelly.
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