Port of Lewiston Expansion Hearing on Wednesday, October 19

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The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct a public hearing on October 19, 2011, to solicit addition information concerning the Port of Lewiston NWW-2010-00213 application to expand its existing facilities.  The proposed port actions could accommodate megaload shipments and require the Corps’ verification and authorization for work in federal waters, lands, and flood control structures (Lewiston levees).  Registration to comment and an informational open house hosted by Corps representatives begin at 6 pm, before the 7 pm hearing at Sacajawea Junior High School, 3610 Twelfth Street in Lewiston.

The Corps will record the hearing and report verbatim all written and oral comments at the meeting, for inclusion in the official public record.  Besides speaking out on Wednesday against this unnecessary development venture, please send your remarks to the Corps by the end of the extended public comment period on October 29, 2011.  For further information about public hearing procedures, comment submission addresses, and the port expansion project, see the Corps’ News Release and its Notice of Public Hearing.  Call Friends of the Clearwater at 208-882-9755 to carpool from downtown Moscow at 5:30 pm.

(From WIRT Newsletter)

Idaho Law Enforcement Wants Reimbursement for Aiding Mega-Loads

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ExxonMobil’s strategy of paring down some of its mega-loads and shipping them up through Idaho’s panhandle may end up costing the oil conglomerate a bit more than expected.

The City of Moscow already announced its plans to bill the company hauling the oversized rigs for costs associated with escorting the loads.  And now Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch says he wants to bill for his department’s overtime costs.

Read more: Idaho Law Enforcement Wants Reimbursement for Aiding Mega-Loads

(By George Prentice, Boise Weekly)

For the Safety of the Greater Good

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Tessa Jilot, Moscow

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 10/11/11

For the last several weeks I have watched the megaloads roll through Moscow, not just as a protestor, but as a resident whose front yard has suddenly become a parking lot for giant, environmentally destructive, earth-raping equipment.

I am absolutely appalled by the complete lack of safety exhibited on behalf of Mammoet and the Idaho State Police. Every week I see pilot cars screaming down U.S. Highway 95 with no regard to the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour and without using turn signals, which help pedestrians like myself understand when it is safe to cross the street. Furthermore, and much more importantly, the Mammoet flaggers seem to have no training in regards to directing traffic. Continue reading →

Megaload Cyclist Says He’ll Fight Obstruction Charge

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A Moscow man says he and a friend were wrongfully arrested and charged late Thursday night for allegedly obstructing law enforcement by riding their bicycles on North Main Street ahead of three overlegal Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil loads.

Zachary E. Johnson, 33, said he probably plans to the fight accusations in court.

He said he was part of a Critical Mass bike ride earlier Thursday night prior to shipments passing through the city. Critical Mass of Moscow is described on its Facebook page as a group that opposes the fossil fuel industry and promotes cycling and will do so to assert their right to access roadways. Continue reading →

Megaloads, Protests are Expected Tonight in Moscow

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An Imperial Oil megaload passes under the highway sign at the split between U.S. Highway 95 and U.S. Highway 12 (The Lewiston Tribune/Kyle Mills photo).

Spokeswoman for Wild Idaho Rising Tide and Moscow police chief have different views on the demonstrations

MOSCOW – More megaloads are scheduled to pass through here tonight and more protests are expected.

Meanwhile, the genesis, status, and future of demonstrations appears to be more a product of spontaneity than planning.

Helen Yost, spokeswoman for Wild Idaho Rising Tide, likened her group’s organizing efforts to “throwing a party.” Those attending protests, she said, are people with deep concerns and the right to express themselves according to individual conscience. Continue reading →

Residents Endangered by Megaloads

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Bill Beck, Pullman

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 10/5/11

The megaloads keep rolling through Moscow. The Idaho Transportation Department, with the support of the Moscow City Council, is allowing our roads to be used as a supply route for the biggest industrial polluter in North America, ExxonMobil’s Alberta Tar Sands development. This industrial nightmare is a major contributor to climate change, it is polluting our planet, poisoning the people of Alberta and contributing to the creation of disasters that will kill untold numbers of people around the world. While the Moscow City Council debates how to mitigate the expense of protecting the ExxonMobil shipments from the justified rage of protesters, citizens on our highways are endangered. Continue reading →

Occupy Haul Street Triple Megaload Protest 9-29-11

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As activists in New York City occupied Wall Street and raged against its corporate/citizen financial inequities, Wild Idaho Rising Tide protesters lined Washington “haul street” in Moscow, Idaho, to physically oppose ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil’s transport of three huge components of an Alberta tar sands upgrading plant. These loads weighing up to 432,000 pounds and blocking two lanes of traffic degrade our rural infrastructure, compromise our civil liberties, and wreak global ecological havoc through climate change.

Megaload Protestors in Idaho Invite ‘Eco-Tourists’ to Join Them

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Jeanne McHale, Moscow

Tar Sands Action website 9/28/11

Missoulian online only 10/9/11

Supporters of climate justice, please hear this plea.  Citizens of Idaho find themselves now at the nexus of greed, environmental degradation, and genocide.  Our ethically challenged state department of transportation has permitted the North Idaho transport of dozens of ExxonMobil megaloads of death, bound for Alberta tar sands operations.  The massive carbon emissions that would result from this mining project represent a point of no return for the planet.  Here in Moscow, Idaho, vigilant protestors are taking a stand as these road-hogging weapons of mass destruction, launched from the Port of Lewiston, bash through town in the late evenings (every Thursday), accompanied by throngs of state, local, and federal law enforcement officers.

Frankly, we need some help here.  North Idaho is beautiful in the fall, the tamarack are turning gold, and the rivers are running clear.  On absolutely no authority whatsoever, I declare the month of October to be “North Idaho Eco-tourism Month.”  Come join the members of Wild Idaho Rising Tide (friend them on facebook), the Moscow Volunteer Peace Band, and other anti-tar sands activists as we converge in Moscow, Idaho, to speak out against our unwilling participation in this immoral exploitation of the planet and its people.

Double Megaload Protest 9-22-11

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As seen from the corner of Second and Washington streets in Moscow, Idaho, two ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil tar sands upgrader components grind past Wild Idaho Rising Tide protesters at City Hall, as two city and state police officers, paid by the hauler Mammoet, cross the street to divert a lone blockader (off-camera).

Tar-Sands Project a Disaster

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Rob Briggs, Pullman

Moscow-Pullman Daily News 9/19/11

There is an expectation among Daily News readers that op-ed pieces will meet minimum standards of civility and respect. We also expect some intent to enlighten and inform. Henry Johnston’s piece on megaload protesters (His View, August 30) met neither expectation. When Doyle McClure wrote to complain (Letters, September 3-4), Michael O’Neal weighed in with charges of censorship (His View, September 7). Continue reading →