ABC News 7SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The U.S. Forest Service is investigating an expired permit that Nestle has been using to draw water out of a national forest in Southern California for its bottled water business.
An investigation by the Desert Sun found that Nestle Waters North America’s permit to transport water across the San Bernardino National Forest expired in 1988. The water is piped across the national forest and loaded on trucks to a plant where it is bottled as Arrowhead 100 percent Mountain Spring Water.
“Since this issue was raised and I became aware of how long that permit has been expired, I have made it a priority to work on this reissuance project,” San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron told the newspaper Friday.
The process of renewing the permit requires an environmental review, which can take between 18 months to more than two years to complete.
Environmentalists have raised concerns about the expired permit and the lack of government oversight in tracking the water being tapped amid the state’s ongoing drought.
Nestle, the largest producer of bottled water in the U.S., said it monitors its water use and the environment around the springs where water is drawn.
Nestle Water spokeswoman Jane Lazgin told the newspaper that the company will work with federal officials during the permit renewal process.
The Forest Service faces a backlog of expired permits. In recent years, it focused on high-priority projects including permits for power lines, pipelines and a new water supply tunnel for the Metropolitan Water District, Southern California’s water wholesaler that serves more than two dozen cities and agencies.
Noiron said Nestle’s expired permit is now a higher priority.
“Now that it has been brought to my attention that the Nestle permit has been expired for so long, on top of the drought . it has gone to the top of the pile in terms of a program of work for our folks to work on,” Noiron said.
This so-called “expired license” is nonsense. They’re supposed to be reviewing EVERY contract on a yearly basis, so for 28 years to go by before they noticed……..pure B.S..
Someone was taking some cash under the table….for 28 years.
Make Nestle’ pay back those 28 years……in water…..to the citizens affected by this “new” drought.
Oh boy… maybe they’ll get a $50 fine….. and then go back to stealing millions in water.
Do you think anyone in government is going to do anything to stop them? Guess again. I’m willing to bet that this lack of a permit doesn’t even slow down their operations for a minute.
Hear that “sucking sound”? That’s not only the sound that is emitted as the last of the water is drawn from containment but it also is Nestlé’s answer for stealing 27 years of our water for their profit.
Like JR said, after under the table palms are greased, they’ll pay a $50.00 fine and continue the pillaging of our natural resources. Now, don’t you get caught stealing Nestlé’s water in rainbarrels or we’ll fine the hell out of you and make you a reservation at the “Crowbar Motel.”
Anyone remember that episode of “Conspiracy Theory” with Jesse V where he exposed how Nestle was stealing so much water out of the great lakes that it caused the water level to drop like 3 feet or something? I never forgot that and also the documentary FLOW where people in Montana sued Nestle for causing their wells to go dry and naturally Nestle won so the people for miles around had no water. They don’t even have to pay for that water. They just buy the land over it and pump away.
Nestle is the only one stealing water from the Great Lakes, sharon.
Much of it has been shipped to China for the past few years.
My bad. That should have been ISN’T.
Sloppy… 🙄
Time is getting short. People will soon be killing for water.
Literally.