On Monday, December 2, 2013, light brigade action team protesters Rod Lyman and Kathy Leathers of Bellingham, Washington, hold up signs, as a megaload slowly passes by on Highway 395 in Hermiston, Oregon. The transport rig carries a 450-ton piece of equipment bound for a tar sands development site in western Canada (Associated Press/E.J. Harris photo).

On Monday, December 2, 2013, a megaload slowly moves south on Highway 395 through Hermiston, Oregon. The transport rig carries a 450-ton piece of equipment bound for a tar sands development site in western Canada (Associated Press/E.J. Harris photo).

Fighting repeated delays and protests, the first of three controversial “megaloads” finally left the Port of Umatilla Monday night with massive equipment bound for the oil sands of Alberta, Canada.

The shipment was scheduled to leave Sunday, but climate activists from across the Northwest effectively blocked its path during an active demonstration inside the port industrial park.

Two protesters – Leonard George Higgins, 61, and Arnold George Schroder, 35 – were arrested after they locked themselves onto the enormous rig using a heavy steel tubes known as “black bears.” It took police two hours to remove the men, and by the time they finished it was 11:30 p.m.

Higgins and Schroder were booked into the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and released Monday. But the action lasted long enough for industrial transporter Omega Morgan to stall the first leg of its route through Hermiston.

The megaload was also delayed a week ago, when the company said it took longer than expected to secure the vessel onto trucks. It was permitted by the Oregon Department of Transportation to leave as early as November 24, but the company decided to wait until after Thanksgiving weekend. Continue reading →

Climate activists won the night Sunday, effectively stalling the first of three controversial “megaloads” from leaving the Port of Umatilla on schedule.

Two protesters were arrested after they locked themselves onto the side and underneath the truck hauling massive equipment to the oil fields in Canada. It took police two hours to remove the men, and by the time they finished it was 11:30 p.m.

About 50 people representing grassroots environmental groups, as well as the local Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, arrived late Sunday to speak out against the megaloads and industrial transporter Omega Morgan.

Once the shipment appeared ready to hit the road, the group crossed into the lot carrying signs and chanting, “No tar sands on tribal lands!” The two protesters were then able to lock onto the truck using heavy steel tubes known as “black bears.”

Officers moved most people back across the property boundary while they worked to detach and arrest the men. But it was later announced shortly before midnight the megaload would not move. Continue reading →

Oregon Department of Transportation News Release 11-18-13

Oregon Department of Transportation News Release 11-22-13

Oregon Traffic Control Plan Final 1273 11-22-13

Oregon Traffic Control Plan Final 1273 12-6-13

Omega Morgan Oregon Permit 165939383 11-22-13

Omega Morgan Oregon Permit 140421147 12-3-13

Omega Morgan Oregon Permit 12-12-13

Oregon Megaload Route

The first of three megaloads bound for Canada was delayed leaving the Port of Umatilla on Sunday night, as crews worked longer than expected to secure the enormous vessel onto trucks, according to industrial hauler Omega Morgan.

And while the shipment is now ready to move, spokeswoman Holly Zander said the decision was made on Monday to hold off again so workers could enjoy Thanksgiving weekend with their families.  Omega Morgan was already required to pull over for the holiday as part of its permit with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).

Instead, the transport is now scheduled to depart on Sunday, December 1, from the port industrial park.  It will begin traveling south on Highway 395 through Hermiston, before heading east on Interstate 84 into Pendleton.

From there, the megaload will continue south through the John Day Valley and east across state lines into southern Idaho.  Its final destination is Alberta, Canada, delivering equipment for refineries in the tar sands project.

Climate activists oppose providing a route on Oregon’s highways for the megaloads.  About 20 protesters arrived on Sunday and Monday nights, to rally against what they believe will only contribute to global warming.

Zander said the protests had nothing to do with delays, nor is Omega Morgan experiencing any other mechanical problems. Continue reading →

The start of a megaload shipment of oil refinery equipment through Eastern Oregon has been put off until Sunday, and objections have been raised in Eastern Oregon that the state didn’t do enough to notify tribal and local government officials.

The shipment has also drawn protests from environmentalists gathered Sunday and Monday at the Port of Umatilla.  They want to call attention to the global warming repercussions that could come from development of oil from the tar sands in western Canada.

The shipment weighing 901,000 pounds remained at the Port of Umatilla on Tuesday, two days after it was scheduled to move. Continue reading →

Protesters huddle in the dark out in front of the 450-ton megaload of oil refinery equipment on Monday at the Port of Umatilla (East Oregonian/E.J. Harris photo).

As promised, about 20 protesters gathered on toe-numbing Sunday and Monday nights at the Port of Umatilla, to rally against the first of three “megaloads” hauling massive refinery equipment into the tar sands of Alberta, Canada.

Yet the shipment never budged, sitting under towering floodlights, while workers with the Hillsboro-based Omega Morgan continue to prepare the oversize transport for its first leg south through Hermiston and east into Pendleton.

The 380-foot-long, 23-foot-wide trucking behemoth was supposed to hit the road by Sunday, then by Monday, according to a traffic advisory from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).  Instead, ODOT posted on TripCheck.com that the transport will begin traveling on December 1.

Climate activists oppose providing a route on Oregon’s highways for something they said will contribute to increased carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.  On Sunday, Jim Powers of Albany also said that ODOT rushed to permit the project without enough public input. Continue reading →

Protesters demonstrating against a megaload bound for a tar sands mining site in Canada gather in front of it at the Port of Umatilla on Sunday evening. The 300-foot-long, 20-foot-high transport scheduled to travel through Hermiston on Monday night has been rescheduled to leave on Sunday, December 1 (Hermiston Herald/Colin Murphey photo).

More shipments from port coming

About a dozen protesters from across the state braved subfreezing temperatures on Sunday night at the Port of Umatilla, to deliver the message that they do not want megaloads on Oregon roads.

Megaloads are unusually large pieces of equipment transported on specially made trailers.  The megaload that was scheduled to pass through Hermiston on Monday night was almost 400 feet long, more than 20 feet wide, and almost 20 feet high.  It was bound for the controversial tar sands oil and gas exploration sites in Alberta, Canada.

The cargo consisted of water purification equipment that will eventually end up at one of the many tar sands sites in Alberta.  The company hauling the megaload, Omega Morgan of Hillsboro, specializes in heavy-freight transportation.

Protest organizer Jim Powers said the group members were demonstrating to voice their displeasure that the megaload was given the green-light to travel through Oregon and what it represented on a larger scale. Continue reading →