http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2016/09/21/nestle-lawsuit-judge-ruling/90791204/
Nestle can keep piping water from national forest, despite permit that is 28 years out of date
The ruling, issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal, states that Nestle's permit remains valid because the company's predecessor reached out to the Forest Service about obtaining a new one and never got a response from the agency.
Instead, the Forest Service just let Nestle keep piping water out of the Strawberry Creek watershed, which is north of San Bernardino in the national forest. Pipes take the water to a roadside holding tank, then it is driven to a bottling plant in Ontario so it can be sold as Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water. Forest Service officials have said Nestle pays an annual permitting fee of $524 for permission to run its pipeline. The company piped an estimated 36 million gallons from the forest in 2015.
The lawsuit, filed in 2015, demanded that the Forest Service halt Nestle’s use of wells and piping in the forest. Plaintiffs, including the Center for Biological Diversity, argued that because the permit had expired years ago, the Forest Service had illegally allowed the company to continue taking water. Environmentalists also worry Strawberry Creek will dry up.
Nestle can keep piping water from national forest, despite permit that is 28 years out of date
The ruling, issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal, states that Nestle's permit remains valid because the company's predecessor reached out to the Forest Service about obtaining a new one and never got a response from the agency.
Instead, the Forest Service just let Nestle keep piping water out of the Strawberry Creek watershed, which is north of San Bernardino in the national forest. Pipes take the water to a roadside holding tank, then it is driven to a bottling plant in Ontario so it can be sold as Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water. Forest Service officials have said Nestle pays an annual permitting fee of $524 for permission to run its pipeline. The company piped an estimated 36 million gallons from the forest in 2015.
The lawsuit, filed in 2015, demanded that the Forest Service halt Nestle’s use of wells and piping in the forest. Plaintiffs, including the Center for Biological Diversity, argued that because the permit had expired years ago, the Forest Service had illegally allowed the company to continue taking water. Environmentalists also worry Strawberry Creek will dry up.
