December, 02 2013, 07:54am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Trip Jennings, Portland Rising Tide – TripJennings1@gmail.com - 541.729.3294
Two Lockdown to Controversial Tar Sands Megaload Shipment Stopping Departure From Port of Umatilla as Tribal Members and climate Justice Groups Rally Nearby
Umatilla, Ore.
Near the Port of Umatilla two people locked down to a megaload of equipment bound for the Alberta tar sands halting its planned departure at 10:00 PM as tribal members and climate justice groups rallied nearby. The equipment, a 901,000 lb. water purifier 22 feet wide, 18 feet tall and 376 feet in length was met by fifty people and was prevented from departing as scheduled. It had planned to leave the Port of Umatilla, head south on 395, then east on 26 on Sunday night.
This week's protest was larger than a similar protest last week as news of the shipment has spread throughout the region. An estimated 50 people greeted the megaload with signs as it's schedule departure time neared. Before it could depart two participants locked themselves to the trucks hauling the megaload, the first time they have been blockaded in this way. This is the first of three megaloads the Hillsboro, OR based shipping company Omega Morgan has scheduled to move through the region in December and January. Similar loads sparked major protests moving through Idaho and Montana including a blockade by the Nez Pierce tribe in August.
Groups organizing the protest, including chapters of Rising Tide and 350.org, oppose the shipments due to the final use of the equipment in the expansion of the Alberta tar sands. This expansion would supply oil for the controversial Keystone XL and other pipelines and many have called the tar sands most destructive industrial project on earth. Umatilla Tribal Member Shana Radford said, "We have responsibility for what happens on our lands, but there are no boundaries for air, the carbon dioxide this equipment would create affects us all. The Nez Pierce tribe said no to megaloads, and so should we."
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) have stated concerns due to the lack of consultation about the project headed through their ceded territory as required by law. The shipment would also cross Warm Springs tribal land where members have stated opposition as well.
Warm Springs tribal member Kayla Godowa said, "It's our duty to protect the native salmon runs in this area. They want to make this a permanent heavy haul route without even consulting our tribes. Loads like this are unprecedented here. What if a bridge collapses? And what about the impact to native communities being destroyed by the tar sands where this equipment will end up? We can't just look the other way while native lands and the climate are being destroyed. We have to stand up."
High resolution photos available at:
Photo (first lockdown): https://portlandrisingtide.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/photo-1.jpg
Photo (rally): https://portlandrisingtide.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/photo-2.jpg
Photo (second lockdown): https://portlandrisingtide.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/photo-3.jpg
Photos may be used with attribution to Portland Rising Tide.
Info: www.PortlandRisingTide.org
Facebook live updates: PortlandRisingTide
Rising Tide is a grassroots network of groups and individuals who take direct action to confront the roots causes of climate change and promote local, community-based solutions to the climate crisis. Rising Tide was formed in the Netherlands in 2000 to bring a more radical voice to the COP6 (UN Conference of the Parties) climate talks that attempted (unsuccessfully, largely due to the efforts of the US delegation) to salvage what of substance was left of the Kyoto Protocol. Employing popular education and direct action to address the root causes of climate change with a focus on climate justice, Rising Tide now spans three continents.
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