Joy, Victory, Gratitude, Camaraderie, Wonder.
- Posted by Spider McKnight on 7/21/11
There are few things in this world that can make me instantly start crying in the middle of an IKEA in Portland, Oregon. But this Tuesday, while standing on an escalator with Suzie Estep, I got an email from Tom France, lead attorney in the lawsuit against Montana Department of Transportation and ExxonMobil brought forth by the Missoula County Commissioners along with National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and Montana Environmental Information Center. This is what it said: “We won! Two months after the hearing on our motion to preliminarily enjoin Imperial Oil from moving massive components across Montana highways to the Alberta tar sands, the Montana District Court just issued an order granting our motion and halting the project. The court held that the Montana Department Transportation violated the Montana Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider alternative routes, failing to consider decommissioning the highway modifications needed for the project and failing to conduct an independent evaluation of the proposal. In so doing, the Court also excused us from any need to post a bond for potential damages to Imperial.” This is when I started to cry.
What does this mean? It means that communities really can stop corporations from literally rolling all over them. Ever since Six Pony Hitch got involved in this campaign, we have been all in. It was the quickest work we’ve ever done and some of the most important. For months people have been looking at us funny when we’ve said that we’re out to stop ExxonMobil from creating a permanent industrial corridor through our rural communities. Most people agreed that it was a stupid idea – transporting massive equipment (almost the length of a football field and as high as a three story building) from Korea to Lewiston, Idaho via a waterway created by a bunch of salmon killing dams then along twisting roads along nationally designated wild and scenic rivers up to the villainous Tar Sands in Alberta – but stupid or not, they never figured that ExxonMobil could be stopped. But, as Margaret Mead says at the bottom of so many peoples’ email signature, “Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
The committed people in this instance were strong and brave and tireless and we are forever thankful to everyone who helped make this happen. From the very brave county commissioners - to the smart and tireless attorneys - to the Nez Perce and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes who joined the lawsuit with amicus briefs - to the organizers on the ground – to the groups storming the governor’s office - to the writers who brought the issue into the souls of so many - to the folks living on the roads to the engineers to my incredible staff who designed and coded and concepted their butts off - to the thousands of people who signed the petition and made comments - to the folks all around the country who sent their support in every way possible – this was truly ALL against the Haul.
Full Missoulian article on the ruling.
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