Megaloads opponents have announced that they'll file no further challenges to the four megaloads on U.S. Highway 12 planned by ConocoPhillips. 'We are proud of the work we have done over the last 10 months helping educate our friends and neighbors about the threats that hundreds of megaloads pose for the communities of the Highway 12 corridor,” said Karen “Borg” Hendrickson. “We now want to move past the Conoco shipments, and focus attention on the hundreds of mega-loads planned by ExxonMobil and Canada’s Imperial Oil, the Korea National Oil Corporation (Harvest Energy), Shell Canada and others companies that seek to use Highway 12 as a ‘high and wide’ corridor to transport overseas equipment to the Alberta tar sands.”

She and the other opponents said in a statement that they plan to monitor the Conoco loads but not to hinder them in any way. They said they "trust that ITD staff mean what they have said, that the ConocoPhillips permits 'do not set a precedent' for the permitting of future megaloads." Click below to read their full statement.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Central Idaho residents and business owners who intervened before the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) to challenge 4 massive ConocoPhillips coke drum shipments up Highway 12 announced today that they do not intend to file a further legal appeal of the ITD overlegal permits.

“We are proud of the work we have done over the last 10 months helping educate our friends and neighbors about the threats that hundreds of megaloads pose for the communities of the Highway 12 corridor,” said Karen “Borg” Hendrickson, one of the Intervenors.

She added:  “We now want to move past the Conoco shipments, and focus attention on the hundreds of mega-loads planned by ExxonMobil and Canada’s Imperial Oil, the Korea National Oil Corporation (Harvest Energy), Shell Canada and others companies that seek to use Highway 12 as a ‘high and wide’ corridor to transport overseas equipment to the Alberta tar sands.”

Her husband, Linwood Laughy, stated that the challengers intend to monitor the coke drum loads, which are authorized to begin on February 1, but that they will not attempt to block or disrupt the megaloads in any way.

“We think it is important for local residents to understand exactly how massive these shipments are and what their impacts may be for traffic and business on Highway 12, but we do not suggest that anyone attempt to interfere with them,” Laughy said.

Hendrickson, Laughy and nearly 4000 other megaload opponents who have signed a "Deny Permits" petition, almost all Idahoans, celebrate the fact that they have forced ITD to pay much keener attention to its legal and public obligations. The opponents trust that ITD staff mean what they have said, that the ConocoPhillips' permits "do not set a precedent" for the permitting of future megaloads.

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