http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/05/anti-nestle_ballot_measure_in.html
Anti-Nestle ballot measure: Bid to block Cascade Locks water plant
succeeds (election results)
By Kelly House | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on May 17, 2016 at 9:11 PM, updated May 17, 2016 at 10:03 PM
Hood River County voters have said yes to a measure that would
effectively block Nestlé Waters' plan to bottle water in Cascade Locks
by banning large water bottling operations in the county.
Partial returns Tuesday showed the measure winning with 68 percent of
the vote.
The measure's backers celebrated with cheering and speeches in Hood
River, while a Nestle spokesman expressed regret while noting "we
respect the democratic process."
Nestlé for seven years has sought a way to bottle water from Oxbow
Springs, which gurgles out of hillside just outside the Columbia River
Gorge town of Cascade Locks.
The company hopes to build a $50 million bottling plant at the town's
port, where 100 million gallons annually of Oxbow Springs water would be
bottled under the Arrowhead brand. Additional Cascade Locks municipal
water would be sold under the company's Pure Life brand.
But the plan has faced opposition from the start, despite widespread
support among the town's leadership. Measure 14-55 was the latest wave
of backlash in a yearslong battle.
Julia DeGraw, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, a national group
leading the Nestle opposition in Oregon, called Tuesday's victory "proof
that voters are smart."
"When you talk to them about something as crucial as their water, which
is necessary for an agricultural economy, right after they have a
drought, there is not enough misinformation the opposition can throw at
voters to make them buy it," DeGraw said.
Critics oppose Nestle on environmental and ideological grounds. Some
argue against the waste inherent in selling water in plastic bottles,
while others say Nestlé's plan amounts to privatizing a public resource
for corporate profits.
Some target Nestlé specifically as a bad actor that exploits small,
economically depressed communities while failing to deliver on promises
of financial salvation. Members of the Warm Springs tribe, who consider
Oxbow Springs a sacred site, say state leaders could be violating their
tribal treaty rights by agreeing to let Nestlé take the spring's water.
Nestle's supporters, meanwhile, see the company's interest in Cascade
Locks as a much-needed win for a community that has struggled for
decades to fill the economic hole created when Oregon's timber industry
contracted. Water, they argue, is one of the city's few abundant resources.
Nestle's proposal to trade water for jobs and, eventually, property
taxes (the city expects to provide tax abatements), sounds like a solid
deal to them. The company expects to employ up to 50 people, and once it
begins paying property taxes, the revenue will nearly double Cascade
Locks' property tax base.
Debora Lorang, who spearheaded a group that fought the ballot measure,
noted a significant portion of Cascade Locks voters opposed the measure.
"We want to be able to repair our town infrastructure," Lorang said.
"There was a brown-out yesterday for no good reason."
It's unclear what the election loss means for Nestlé. Aurora del Val,
leader of the Local Water Alliance, which sponsored the ballot measure,
said she expects Nestle to sue. DeGraw expressed confidence that the
measure is legally-defensible.
"It was written knowing full well we were going up against he world's
biggest multinational food and beverage company," she said.
In a statement Tuesday, Nestle spokesman Dave Palais said company
leaders are "disappointed," but gave no hint of the company's plans in
Oregon.
"While we firmly believe this decision on a county primary ballot is not
in the best interest of Cascade Locks, we respect the democratic
process," he said.
Lorang, meanwhile, cautioned that the fight over Nestle's right to set
up shop in Cascade Locks "ain't over 'til it's over." She raised legal
questions about county voters' ability to weigh in the city matters.
"We could still see this be overturned in court," she said.
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