Autumn larch along the Lochsa River (Borg Hendrickson photo)

Federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill denied a request by General Electric and the U.S. Forest Service to lift his injunction barring megaloads from U.S. Highway 12 (Winmill Reconsideration Denial 10-10-13).

The corporation, through its subsidiary Resources Conservation Company International (RCCI), and the agency had asked the judge to reconsider his September 12 preliminary injunction against the massively oversized loads.

“The Court cannot find that RCCI has made a strong showing that it will prevail on appeal.  Moreover, any likely damages are monetary in nature and not irreparable.  Perhaps most importantly, staying the injunction will cause the very harm plaintiffs complain about in this lawsuit, harm the Court has found would be irreparable,” he wrote.

The company is expected to appeal his September 12 ruling to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Portland or Seattle.

(By The Lewiston Tribune, with revisions)