By KIM BRIGGEMAN of the Missoulian | Posted: Friday, January 14, 2011 8:45 pm
Powell County commissioners have a message for the oil company that would ship more than 200 megaloads of processing equipment through the middle of the county:
Come on in.
The route that Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil's shipments would follow, if approved, includes a 30-mile stretch of Powell County on Montana Highway 200, from east of Clearwater Junction to west of Lincoln. The only town on the route is tiny Ovando.
"It isn't an awful lot of miles in our county, but we do believe it's important for economic growth and the potential for relieving some of our problems with oil," said Commissioner Cele Pohle.
They believed it strongly enough to pass a resolution at their Jan. 4 meeting in Deer Lodge supporting the hauls. It urged Gov. Brian Schweitzer and "all other state officials" to continue backing the big rig shipments, and to ensure "that no highway user is discriminated against, but is allowed the full and free use of our roads and highways."
The resolution also called on all Montanans and community leaders to "stand firmly together on the importance of protecting free and open access for all industries, and loudly voice our combined support for this valuable project."
"I truly believe, with the big picture with the oil sands in Canada, it's got to relieve some of the pressure that we feel down here in regard to our oil needs," said Pohle, who took her turn as the commission's presiding officer at the Jan. 4 meeting. "I really think it's good economic sense,"
She added that the additional turnouts ExxonMobil plans to build in the Ovando Valley will be nice when she and her husband "are driving with our trailer and we've got a group of 20 behind us."
"At least we'll be able to pull out and let them go past," Pohle said.
Imperial/Exxon officials have stopped in at the Deer Lodge courthouse two or three times in the past 18 months or so to share their plans.
"They've been very, very proactive in keeping us informed as to what their moves have been, and I think we probably appreciate that more than anything. So many times things just sort of pop up at us," she said.
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Powell is believed to be the first Montana county of seven along the route to take an official stance in favor of the big rigs. Missoula County commissioners wrote a letter to the Montana Department of Transportation in May calling for a more thorough environmental impact study. The Missoula City Council passed a resolution voicing its opposition, and increased licensing fees for oversized loads.
Once the Canada-bound loads leave Missoula and Powell counties, they'll travel through parts of Lewis and Clark, Teton, Glacier, Pondera and Toole counties before entering Canada at the Port of Sweetgrass.
Commissioners Donna Young and Ralph Mannix Jr. joined Pohle in passing the resolution. They held that a robust economic landscape is essential to businesses, schools, public services and families, and that local counties and communities "must stand in firm support of new projects and opportunities that will benefit our regional economy and provide jobs for our residents."
Commercial traffic on public roads is crucial to maintaining a viable business climate, the resolution also stated.
Powell commissioners have seen ExxonMobil's plans for the haul.
"Yes, there could be a problem, but there could be a problem with anything," Pohle said. "We live in a corridor where we've got I-90, we've got railroad tracks, we've got the (Clark Fork) river - we have everything running through our county.
"We could easily have an oil spill; we could easily have a wreck with a train or whatever else. This to me isn't as major a problem as those things are, because I think they're taking so many precautions."
Reporter Kim Briggeman can be reached at 523-5266 or at kbriggeman@missoulian.com.
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