Oregon governor seeks public input on Nestle water bottling deal
Source: Reuters
US | Mon Nov 9, 2015 9:22pm EST
Oregon governor seeks public input on Nestle water bottling deal
PORTLAND, ORE. | BY SHELBY SEBENS
Oregon Governor Kate Brown has called for greater public scrutiny of food giant Nestle's plans to bottle water in the Columbia River Gorge, as the Pacific Northwest state languishes under historic drought conditions, her office said on Monday.
Nestlé Waters North America has for about six years been pushing for a deal that would see the company build a water bottling plant in Cascade Locks, a small city along the Columbia River in northern Oregon.
City officials say the $50 million plant would bring 50 "family wage" jobs in a town of 1,235 people with an unemployment rate more than triple the national level.
The plan has drawn opposition from environmental activists and residents. Opponents have filed paperwork to add a ballot measure for next year that, if passed, would ban large commercial water bottling in Hood River County.
Brown made her request for greater public scrutiny in a letter to Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Curt Melcher on Friday.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/10/us-oregon-water-idUSKCN0SZ06720151110
= new reply since forum marked as read
