USFS: Expired Nestle water permit a priority
By Ian James, Desert Sun
U.S. Forest Service officials on Friday said they are making it a priority to examine a long-expired permit that Nestle has been using to pipe water out of a national forest to use for bottled water.
Nestle Waters North America has long drawn water from wells that tap into springs in Strawberry Canyon north of San Bernardino. The water flows through a pipeline across the national forest and is hauled by trucks to a plant to be bottled as Arrowhead 100 percent Mountain Spring Water.
In an investigation last month, The Desert Sun found that Nestle’s permit to transport water across the San Bernardino National Forest expired in 1988 and that the Forest Service hasn’t assessed the impacts of the bottled water business on streams in two watersheds that sustain sensitive habitats.
“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 said in a telephone interview.
Forest Service officials recently announced plans to take up the issue and carry out an environmental analysis after a group of critics raised concerns in emails and letters, and after the Desert Sun inquired about the expired permit.
1988?!
you would think they would be forced to shut down until they had a valid and current operating permit.
What a pile of stink this is!
If they let this for profit out of state enterprise continue while they do the “Study”, then why in hell should we believe a thing they tell us about tightening our (water) belts due to the drought. Some days I feel like we all need to do the “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” scene from Network!
You guys laugh at my obsession with government, but every day we see crap like this. You think government will protect you from abuse by private industry, but all they do is enable big corporations to profit at your expense. They take money from corporations, and protect their interests, all the while taxing you into oblivion.
How many more stories of incompetence and corruption do you need to see to believe it?
Dog:
You are unconvincing. Large corporations have shown they are not all that competent at times and many make money in spite of themselves – regulators (gov) also suffer from the ailment of largeness, but on average, just like corporations they muddle through getting things done. Our air and water quality (while it could be better) is far better today than it was in the 1960s and 1970s (based on well reported metrics) all due to gov regulations. We a similar size earthquake as the Loma Prieta or Northridge quake hit in Mexico or Pakistan, instead of 20,000 people dying we had 50 or 60. Can gov regs be mind-numbing and silly from time to time, yes they can, but all in all they work. Can they be improved – hell yes, but I have never been one to advocate throwing the baby out with the bath water.
As for taxes, based on comments you have previously made, I am pretty sure I pay way more in taxes then you make, and I do not feel over taxed. In fact, the wealth disparity in this country has become so out of whack and unsustainable, I agree with many of the progressive billionaires (Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others) who call on higher taxes on the wealthy. Buffett noted a few years ago, the time of great economic growth and stability in this country occurred when gov expense ran 22% of GDP and revenues 19% of GDP, economic growth accommodated the 3% or so difference between expense and revenue. So to get back there we need to cut expense while increasing revenue.
Rick
Right, Rick. Large corporations are not that competent. But in a free market they would fail if they continued that way. it’s only government intervention that allows them to grow as powerful and bloated as they are. Government creates licensing laws and regulations for corporations who kick back money, which keeps other smaller private interests from fairly competing with them. It’s a ‘you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours’ situation. Without government support, massive corporations wouldn’t happen.
As far as your paying more taxes than I make, and being fine with that, all I can say is ‘bully for you.’ A brag and a cut at the same time. Nice.
You’re perfectly free to enjoy being robbed by a corrupt government. You can enjoy your servitude if you like. But I am anti-slavery. And it doesn’t matter what the 1% says about their belief that they should pay higher taxes; every one of them employs armies of tax attorneys to make sure they pay no more than they absolutely have to. They all believe that they themselves are better at allocating their money for themselves, their families, and their charities. And I believe the same. Government is the most inefficient way to accomplish anything. And they’ll imprison you if you disagree. Tell me that isn’t slavery.
Nestles is a FRENCH corporation and they pay NO US taxes.
I know this because my husband fought Nestles all the way to the Texas Supreme Court trying to change water laws in Texas.
The government has become so corrupted, I can remember when there were allegations against Halliburton and how evil it was. Never any proof but lots of screaming in the news. Now look at how much goes on and hardly a peep from the sheep.
Google for instance and their private meetings at the Whitehouse – yesterday the EU charged Google with AntiTrust and here in America a few weeks back the news hit that the Google federal antitrust investigation appeared to have been squashed. Wonder why.
No big outcry, hardly heard anything. I bet most people didn’t even know about it. Hardly made the main stream news, talk about evil and corrupted.
Dick Cheney once CEO of Haliburton, as Vice President pushes an agenda to go to war in Iraq based on faked documents and Haliburton becomes the largest contractor providing services to the US military effort awarded without any other bidders allowed.
Tomorrow Dreaming, I think you’re actually dreaming as it pertains to yesterday, cause your observation doesn’t seemed to be based in reality.
I think you should not personalize the discussion. There is no reason to insult people like you do.
On a general Note, as i see it;
People that can not stick to the issue at hand and start throwing insults are a big part of what is causing all the hate in our country.
I wish people would stop spreading hate and deal with the issues, they are important.
Tomorrow Dreaming, you bring up Haliburton and Google in a discussion about Nestle and water use. You make the statement, “hardly a peep from the sheep.”
Then you argue, “I wish people would stop spreading hate and deal with the issues.”
Hmmm.
The lack of response from the masses of low info people in this country is indeed part of the issue/problem.
The point I am making is the corruption of the government and I see a clear connection between the issues of the past and the current state of America.
I did not make it personal nor insult any individual.
Rather than writing a paper here, why don’t we bury Sacramento with protest phone calls and emails? I’ve called all the offices I could get though to including the office of the POTUS. This is crimminal when the drought emergency is considered. Shut em down!
Arrowhead is the worst tasting water anyway.
Susan, I feel the need to correct you here, Nestle is a SWISS company.
So if the government goes after nestle (which it should) for stealing public resources from the people of our country without paying for what they are stealing, without a valid permit, how is this any different than old rancher clive bundy grazing his cows illegally on public lands without a valid permit or paying the federal government for his use of this public resource? Several of the bloggers who have commented above were all over the federal government for harassing old man bundy but they think the corporate theifs are crooks getting away with something. I just find it ironic (hypocritical actually) how some old dried up cow poke is the good guy but some big ol corporation is the bad guy. IMHO they both are crooks and should be punished accordingly.
I personally don’t understand why people buy bottled water in the first place. A tremendous waste of money and resources for water no better than tap water. Some of it IS just filtered tap water as indicated on the bottle.
It clearly is embarrassing for a permit to expire without any notice by the permitting agency, the Forest Service.
We must also remember that the state of CA only in the last few months began to form regulations to track, permit and control underground water in the state. All the western states I am aware of have done this for 50 or more years
The cries of corruption are in many cases probably simple incompetence. This is in need of change and not much better. But incompetence is not against the law.
Finally, I am sure Nestle’s California company is paying taxes, wages etc. Shutting them down at this point would hurt many innocent people who are just trying to feed their families.
Just hit them with new regulations under current law and get on with life.
To clarify, The Nestles Corp was originally founded in Swizerland; however, Nestles Water Corp is in France. But my point is still that Nestles does NOT pay US taxes.