U.S. Water News Online
LANSING, Mich. -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm has ordered state officials not to allow new or expanded bottled water operations in Michigan until the Legislature enacts a water withdrawal law.
The order is meant to allow time to study how water bottling affects the state's water resources, Granholm said.
"As stewards of the Great Lakes, we must ensure these facilities are not causing long-term harm to our most precious natural resource," she said in a statement.
Granholm issued the order as the state Department of Environmental Quality granted a permit to Nestle Waters North America Inc. to buy water from the city of Evart's municipal system for bottling.
The Evart City Council in March approved a 10-year water purchasing agreement with the company, which owns the Ice Mountain spring water bottling plant near Stanwood in neighboring Mecosta County.
It calls for Greenwich, Conn.-based Nestle Waters to pump spring water from Evart's municipal water system to a nearby transfer station, where it would be pumped into tanker trucks for transport to the factory about 25 miles to the south.
The DEQ permit requires the company to certify every three months that spring water from the Evart plant is distributed only within the Great Lakes basin.
"The permit issued to Nestle allows the company to use our state's resources, but ensures that they will be used responsibly," said Steve Chester, the DEQ director. "The Legislature must now take action to provide us with the needed path forward on this important public policy issue."
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