LANSING (AP) - Michigan officials Tuesday gave the public an additional 90 days to comment on a bottled water company's request for a 167 percent increase in the volume of water it pumps from a groundwater well.
The Department of Environmental Quality said it also will convene a public hearing on Nestle Waters North America's plan before the comment period expires March 3, 2017. The company last month announced a $36 million expansion of its Ice Mountain bottling operation near Stanwood in Mecosta County.
The plan calls for boosting withdrawals from the well in neighboring Osceola County from 150 gallons per minute to 400 gallons per minute. Nestle said the expansion would create 20 additional jobs at the plant, which employs more than 250 people.
The DEQ has recommended approval of the increased pumping but hasn't made a final decision.
Nestle's proposal has revived a dispute with a nonprofit group that fought the company in court over its original plan for the bottling operation, which also sought a 400-gallon-per-minute withdrawal rate. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation sued in 2001, contending the pumping would harm lakes, rivers and streams in the area.
A 2009 settlement allowed the company to pump at a lower rate.
"I'm not sure if there is a reasonable amount of water that should be allowed to be taken from an aquifer," Jeff Ostahowski, vice president of the nonprofit group, told the Detroit Free Press. "But 400 gallons per minute seems more than a bit too much."
In a proposal submitted under the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, Nestle acknowledged the additional withdrawals would cause slight reductions in flows of two nearby creeks and the Muskegon River but said there was a "low probability" of harm to aquatic habitat, fish populations or wetlands.
The Stanwood plant receives its water supply "from diverse sources that we manage in a sustainable manner," said Christopher Rieck, a spokesman for Nestle Waters North America. "The increase would also allow us the ability to balance the use of our water sources to ensure long-term sustainability and support future growth."
© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Public Gets More Time To Comment On Nestle's Plan To Pump More Water In Michigan
/ CBS Detroit
LANSING (AP) - Michigan officials Tuesday gave the public an additional 90 days to comment on a bottled water company's request for a 167 percent increase in the volume of water it pumps from a groundwater well.
The Department of Environmental Quality said it also will convene a public hearing on Nestle Waters North America's plan before the comment period expires March 3, 2017. The company last month announced a $36 million expansion of its Ice Mountain bottling operation near Stanwood in Mecosta County.
The plan calls for boosting withdrawals from the well in neighboring Osceola County from 150 gallons per minute to 400 gallons per minute. Nestle said the expansion would create 20 additional jobs at the plant, which employs more than 250 people.
The DEQ has recommended approval of the increased pumping but hasn't made a final decision.
Nestle's proposal has revived a dispute with a nonprofit group that fought the company in court over its original plan for the bottling operation, which also sought a 400-gallon-per-minute withdrawal rate. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation sued in 2001, contending the pumping would harm lakes, rivers and streams in the area.
A 2009 settlement allowed the company to pump at a lower rate.
"I'm not sure if there is a reasonable amount of water that should be allowed to be taken from an aquifer," Jeff Ostahowski, vice president of the nonprofit group, told the Detroit Free Press. "But 400 gallons per minute seems more than a bit too much."
In a proposal submitted under the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, Nestle acknowledged the additional withdrawals would cause slight reductions in flows of two nearby creeks and the Muskegon River but said there was a "low probability" of harm to aquatic habitat, fish populations or wetlands.
The Stanwood plant receives its water supply "from diverse sources that we manage in a sustainable manner," said Christopher Rieck, a spokesman for Nestle Waters North America. "The increase would also allow us the ability to balance the use of our water sources to ensure long-term sustainability and support future growth."
© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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