The Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho joined forces with an environmental group in a lawsuit that seeks to stop a controversial megaload shipment.

The lawsuit was served on the driver of the rig on Thursday as the truck made its way through the Clearwater National Forest, an area where the tribe retains hunting, gathering and other treaty-based rights. But the driver kept on going.

“The tribe is frustrated we have to take action in court to stop something that a court has previously ordered the Forest Service to actively regulate, but feel we have been left with no other option,” Chairman Silas Whitman said in a press release. “Our action of filing this legal proceeding as well as our active protests on the highway to this transport was precipitated by the agency’s failure to do its job.”

Protesters followed the shipment for a fourth night on Thursday. It's due to travel through Montana but a permit has not been issued in that state, The Missoula Independent reported.

Meanwhile, a second truck is awaiting approval to go through Idaho. That means the tribe will have to deal with another unwanted shipment through its reservation.

The first truck traveled about 72 miles along US Highway 12, all through the reservation. That part of the trip took three nights.

The truck is carrying a 225-foot-long water purification unit. The equipment is headed to the tar sands oil development area in Alberta, Canada.

Get the Story:
Federal lawsuit filed to stop megaload; rig moves up Highway 12 (AP 8/9)
Lawsuit filed to stop megaload; big rig enters protected river corridor (The Lewiston Tribune 8/8)
Nez Perce, feds railroaded (The Missoula Independent 8/8)

Related Stories:
Nez Perce Tribe to sue over megaload shipment on reservation (8/8)
Nez Perce Tribe makes second attempt to stop megaload truck (8/7)
Nez Perce Tribe attempts to block megaload from reservation (8/6)
Nez Perce Tribe opposes megaload shipments on highways (8/5)