[env-trinity] Chronicle: Crystal Geyser bottling plant draws lawsuit

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Crystal-Geyser-sued-over-bottling-plant-that-6465184.php#photo-7894096


Crystal Geyser bottling plant draws lawsuit
By Peter Fimrite 
Updated 3:45 pm, Tuesday, August 25, 2015
An environmental group opposed to a bottling plant near Mount Shasta filed a lawsuit accusing Crystal Geyser of pushing through an illegal plan to suck thousands of gallons of water a day from an aquifer that feeds the drought-diminished Sacramento River.The group called We Advocate Thorough Environmental Review, or Water, filed the suit Monday in Napa County Superior Court, claiming the Calistoga company failed to get proper permits and will be violating land-use provisions if it carries out its plan this fall to tap Big Springs, which burbles out through lava tubes at the base of California’s largest volcano. 
RELATED STORIES
   
   - Bug outbreak irks California towns
   - Northern California is in El Niño’s sights
   - Study: Global warming has made California’s drought worse
Siskiyou County was also named in the suit for allegedly ignoring its own rules and “rubber stamping” the plant, said Bruce Hillman, president of the nonprofit group’s board of directors. “The ultimate goal is to have an environmental impact report,” Hillman said. “We don’t know what the effect of this plant will be on the local environment, so we are asking for an injunction until these issues have been decided.”The purveyor of sparkling mineral water and juice was not required to do such a report or obtain a permit from the state to open the plant, even though it will use drinking water that would normally go to millions of Californians struggling to cope with the four-year drought. The plant, which is being readied for opening, is a bitter pill for some of the 3,394 residents of the city of Mount Shasta, who like everyone else in the state have been asked to conserve the very water Crystal Geyser intends to sell. Opponents fear the bottling operation could drain wells and deplete the aquifer, which fills Siskiyou County rivers and streams and feeds the headwaters of the Sacramento River. Judy Yee, the executive vice president of marketing and business strategy for Crystal Geyser, said company officials were disappointed but could not comment on pending litigation.“We are moving ahead, however, with our plans to open the plant in the coming months,” Yee said. “We will also continue our support for local community events and organizations, abiding by our commitment to strengthen communities where we do business and protect the environment where we source our water.” Greg Plucker, Siskiyou County’s community development director, said he could not comment on the suit because he had not yet read it. He has said in the past that his department does not have authority to require an environmental review, because there are no permits or other approvals that require “discretionary action” by the county.Crystal Geyser paid $5 million in 2013 for the existing 145,000-square-foot bottling plant, which was given permission by the Regional Water Quality Control Board to tap the aquifer when it was built in 2000. The operation, which is on 266 acres, was once owned by Coca-Cola, which abandoned the plant in 2010 when it stopped selling spring water.The facility, which is under county jurisdiction but would have to use city services, would eventually make juice, flavored tea and mint drinks. The company plans to phase out its Calistoga and Bakersfield plants and move its entire mineral water operation to Siskiyou County, a concern for 26 adjacent homeowners who rely on well water.Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: pfimrite at sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20150826/ace8d0bf/attachment.html>