MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Department of Transportation officials said they will continue to fight a lawsuit filed by Missoula County

and three conservation groups that seeks to block huge loads of

oilfield equipment from being transported on two-lane roads through

the northwestern part of the state and into Canada.

On Tuesday, District Judge Ray Dayton granted a preliminary injunction

blocking the agency from issuing permits to transport the Imperial Oil

loads over Montana roadways into Canada. The judge said the department

didn't assess wetlands or floodplain information and didn't seem to

adequately consider the impacts of new turnouts along the route. He

also said the environmental assessment wasn't clear on how the agency

concluded an interstate route wasn't feasible.

"MDT has reviewed the judge's order and is preparing to move forward

when a trial date is set by the court," Lori Ryan, the department's

public information officer, told the Missoulian in an email Wednesday.

Missoula County was joined in the lawsuit by the National Wildlife

Federation, the Montana Environmental Information Center and the

Montana chapter of the Sierra Club.

"The case is probably ripe for summary judgment, because we've already

got in the evidence that is probably going to be ultimately

considered," said deputy county attorney James McCubbin. "So that's

likely the next step."

Imperial Oil, a Canadian subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, applied for

permits to haul 207 huge loads of equipment from the port of Lewiston

in Idaho over U.S. Highway 12 and state Highway 200 in western Montana

to an oil sands project in northeastern Alberta. It was an intervener

in the lawsuit filed by the county.

Company spokesman Pius Rolheiser said Wednesday it was too early to

determine if the company will continue to fight the case.

Imperial Oil already has sent one downsized module on the interstate

route, and is preparing dozens of others at the Port of Lewiston.

"One thing to point out is that this ruling ... doesn't have a bearing

on the alternative route for the modules that we're disassembling at

the Port of Lewiston and that would be moved on U.S. 95 to Interstate

90," Rolheiser said.

John Wolverton with the Sierra Club's Montana Chapter said:

"Hopefully, Exxon Mobil is rethinking its options and realizing that

Montana is not going to be a pushover for anything a big oil

corporation wants."