Dive Brief:
- Oregon Gov. Kate Brown put in a request for public scrutiny of Nestle Waters North America's plans to bottle water in the Columbia River Gorge, as the area struggles with historic drought conditions.
- Nestle has been working on the deal for six years, which would involve building a bottling plant in Cascade Locks, a city by the Columbia River. "City officials say the $50 million plant would bring 50 'family wage' jobs in a town of 1,235 people with an unemployment rate more than triple the national level," Reuters reported.
- Environmental activists and residents have expressed disapproval of the deal.
Dive Insight:
"If the deal goes through, Nestle would buy water from Cascade Locks. The city would gain control of that water source, Oxbow Springs, which is on public land in the Mt. Hood National Forest, by obtaining a right to the water from the state," according to Reuters.
Brown has asked the Department of Fish and Wildlife to "go forward with an exchange of water, rather than a water right transfer, because an exchange requires more public involvement," Reuters reported. A department spokesman said the agency would fulfill that request.
"We believe strongly in transparency and have worked with residents and other stakeholders to ensure their understanding of our proposal," Dave Palais, natural resource manager for Nestle Waters North America, said in a statement.
Nestle ran into similar issues last month when environmental groups in California sued the U.S. government for allowing the company to bottle water in California though Nestle's permit to do so expired in 1988, according to the activists.