Enormous Kearl-bound oilsands shipments target of Montana lawsuit
By: The Canadian Press
Posted: 04/1/2011
CALGARY - The Government of Montana is being challenged in court over its decision to approve the shipment of enormous truckloads of oilsands equipment through the state to northern Alberta.
Missoula County and three environmental groups say in a lawsuit that the state Transportation Department made the wrong decision in allowing the shipments and are demanding a full environmental impact assessment.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO) and its U.S. parent ExxonMobil Corp. are seeking to bring modules manufactured in South Korea to the site of their Kearl oilsands mine in Alberta.
The megaloads are so big that changes have to be made to some Montana highways in order to accommodate them.
The Montana Transportation Department decided in February that there would not be any significant environmental or economic impacts from those modifications.
However, the environmental groups say the assessment must take into account the fact that the shipments are bound for the oilsands — a resource they consider to be a major contributor to global climate change.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/greenpage/enormous-k...
