Hearing officer: Idaho should issue megaload permits

JOHN MILLER, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A hearing officer recommended Tuesday that the Idaho Transportation Department issue four permits to allow ConocoPhillips to ship oversized oil-refinery equipment from Idaho to Montana.

In his 57-page recommendation, Boise attorney Merlyn Clark said evidence shows the four loads can be transported safely and with minimum inconvenience to the general public along northcentral Idaho's U.S. Highway 12, which parallels the Lochsa and Clearwater rivers.

He said foes of the shipments provided no "reliable evidence" that the loads would damage tourism...