Court News

Judge halts Imperial Oil's megaloads thru Montana

Posted: Jul 19, 2011 9:28 PM by Jay Kohn - Q2 News
Updated: Jul 19, 2011 9:47 PM

MISSOULA - A legal setback today for Imperial Oil and its project to move 207 megaloads of tar sands mining equipment from Idaho, through Montana, eventually to Alberta, Canada.

Late Tuesday, Anaconda District Judge Ray Dayton issued a temporary injunction halting the shipments thru Montana.

In the ruling, Dayton found that the Montana Department of Transportation failed to consider "alternative routes" for the megaloads as required by the Montana Environmental Policy Act.

Dayton's ruling is the result of a lawsuit filed by Missoula County, the National Wildlife Federation, the Montana Environmental Information Center and the Sierra Club. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation and the Nez Perce Tribe also filed briefs in support of the preliminary injunction request.

In his ruling, Dayton found that DOT officials failed to take a "hard look" at the environmental impacts of the megaloads route thru Montana. In fact, Dayton found that the department's environmental assessment of the project, was actually prepared by one of Imperial Oil's contractors.

Reacting to the ruling, NWF Montana based attorney Tom France said he is "elated that for now, the big rigs are not rolling." "The tar sands pose a threat to Montana, and we need to think very carefully about the risks before hitting the throttle," France said.

Topics: Billings, KTVQ, megaloads, tar sands, injunction, Judge Ray Dayton