ITD has filed its own response to the appeal from opponents of its decision to grant permits for ConocoPhillips to transport four megaloads of oil refinery equipment across U.S. Highway 12 in north-central Idaho; you can read it here. The ITD response says, "The hearing officer applied the correct legal standards and properly applied the burden of proof." ITD also wrote that the fact that Highway 12 is a state and federally designated scenic byway is "irrelevant" to its application of its administrative rules regarding over-legal loads, and that "Nowhere in the rules is the department allowed, much less required, to take into consideration these designations." The primary purpose of the route is commerce, ITD writes. ITD spokesman Adam Rush said, "The director will review the appeal from Advocates for the West and responses from ConocoPhillips and ITD as soon as possible. There is no timeframe for his decision."