Progressive groups file lawsuit involving Nestle bottling permits

On Tuesday, three groups – Courage Campaign Institute, Center for Biological Diversity and Story of Stuff Project – filed a lawsuit against the United States Forest Service over Nestle’s bottling operations. The lawsuit seeks to shut down a four-mile long pipeline Nestle uses to transport water from Strawberry Creek, located in the San Bernardino County Forest, to its bottling facility in nearby Ontario, California.

According to the three groups, the U.S. Forest Service department has allowed Nestle to continue bottling millions of gallons of water, despite Nestle’s permit that expired 27 years ago.

The groups’ heads cite the severity of the California drought as the reason the U.S. Forest Service must immediately halt Nestle’s bottling operations.

“Nestlé’s actions aren’t just morally bankrupt, they are illegal. In the spring, we asked Nestlé to do the right thing, and they threw it back in our faces, telling Californians they’d take more of our water if they could,” said Eddie Kurtz, executive director of the California-based Courage Campaign Institute. “The US Forest Service has been enabling Nestlé’s illegal bottling in the San Bernardino National Forest for 27 years, and it has to stop. Our government won’t stand up to them, so we’re taking matters into our own hands.”

According to Nestle spokeswoman, Jane Lazgin, the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing their permit.

“We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, our permit for the pipeline remains in full force and effect under the federal Administrative Procedure Act,” Lazgin told California Water News Daily. “Permits that are timely and sufficiently requested do not expire until the reissuance of the permit has been determined by the U.S. Forest Service. We are working diligently with the USFS on the renewal of the permit. It is in the best interests of all parties to move the process forward. We will continue to abide by all relevant laws and regulations, be it federal, state or local as it relates to our operations.”

The U.S. Forest Service backed up Nestle’s claim. According to Regional Forest Service spokesman John Heil, the agency’s policy is to allow operations to continue while permit renewal is being completed. Because of the drought, there’s a backlog of 2,500 expired permits. Of those, 1,200 involve water use.