Oil-processing gear's U.S. route sparks fears

John S. Adams, USA TODAY, June 15, HELENA, Mont. — As the nation anxiously watches the catastrophic continuing Gulf oil spill, one portion of the country is growing concerned about another oil-related issue — a plan to transport the enormous machinery required to build an oil-
processing plant in Canada.

The immediate issue is not the plant itself — which would extract oil from sand — but the disruptions and environmental issues involved with trucking more than 200 massive pieces of Korean-built processing equipment along the path of Lewis and Clark and adjacent to famed wild and scenic rivers in Northern Rockies.

Some of the loads will be as large as 24 feet wide by 30 feet tall and up to 160 feet in length and the largest rigs will weigh as much as 150 tons or more. According to Montana's environmental assessment, Canadian oil giant Imperial Oil is
expected to spend more than $40 million in Montana to upgrade roadways and relocate utilities to accommodate trucks along the route.

'Destructive project'

The anticipated route from Idaho's Port of Lewistown to Canada's Alberta oil sands will take the rigs along the banks of Idaho's Lochsa River, a world-class fishery and popular whitewater destination, and Montana's Blackfoot River, of author Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It fame.

The Athabasca oil sands are a massive deposit of bitumen — a tar-like form of petroleum — located in northern Alberta. According to the Government of Alberta Energy Department, bitumen, unlike conventional oil, requires intensive processing
before it can be pumped into pipelines and transported to U.S. refineries. Environmental groups, such as the Polaris Institute, have called the Canadian oil sands "the most destructive project on earth."

Imperial Oil has filed plans with transportation officials in Montana and Idaho to begin hauling the necessary equipment starting in October. The project would last about a year, according to the proposal.

Proponents of the project claim Imperial's proposal is a one-time project that will bring millions of dollars in revenue and economic benefits to cash-strapped communities along the route.