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Voters May Rule on Export Tax for Maine's Drinking Water

Posted on: Friday, 23 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

Sep. 24--A referendum question asking voters to impose a tax of nearly 20 cents on each gallon of bottled water taken from Maine wells may be on the ballot in November 2006.

Supporters of "An Act to Preserve Maine's Drinking Water Supply" said they delivered petitions with 51,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office Friday afternoon, less than an hour before their deadline.

That's about 500 more names than needed to put the referendum on the ballot, though the signatures still must be validated.

The proposal to tax groundwater sets the stage for a battle between grassroots organizers of the referendum and Poland Spring, the only bottled water company in Maine large enough to be affected by the proposal.

Referendum supporters say the measure is necessary to ensure that bottled water companies don't extract too much water from Maine's aquifers. They maintain groundwater is a public resource that deserves greater public protection than the state provides.

"The fact of the matter is we don't really have any sustainability standards or sustainability monitoring (of groundwater)," said Dick Dyer of Winthrop, spokesman for H2O for ME, the citizens group behind the petition effort.

A representative for Poland Spring said the legislation unfairly targets one of many industries that rely on groundwater and the company with 600 employees could no longer afford to do business in Maine if the initiative were to pass.

"I don't see how we could continue (if the tax were imposed)" said Tom Brennan, natural resource manager for Poland Spring, a subsidiary of Nestle Waters North America. "That represents significantly more than our profit."

For the past year, referendum supporters have been gathering signatures in support of their proposal to impose a 3 cent charge on every 20 ounces of water extracted from Maine wells. The tax would only apply to bottled-beverage businesses taking more than 500,000 gallons of water a year.

Poland Spring draws 500 million gallons of water a year from Maine aquifers.

If all of that water were bottled and taxed at 20 cents a gallon, it would raise nearly $100 million.

The proposal, originally put forth by former state legislator Jim Wilfong of Stow, calls for using the funds to create a trust that would pay dividends to Maine residents and fund a conservation board charged with monitoring and regulating the state's aquifers.

The legislation is built on the notion that Maine taxpayers have paid to protect the state's abundance of clean water, Dyer said, and they deserve compensation if that resource is being sold.

"We believe Maine people deserve a return on that investment," he said. "Why should a natural resource be taken for free and allow a few to make very significant profits?"

Brennan said several different state agencies already oversee the extraction of groundwater in Maine and the company has an inherent interest in extracting no more water than can be replenished.

"It's fundamental to the success of our business to have a sustainable source," he said.

Brennan also questioned why the referendum was specifically worded to focus on the bottled water industry and did not apply to other groundwater-consuming businesses.

In 2004, Maine farmers used about 800 million gallons of water for irrigation, half of which came from groundwater, according to State Geologist Bob Marvinney.

In terms of the effect on an aquifer, Marvinney said there is no difference between shipping water out of state and applying it to agricultural fields.

Poland Spring is considering building another bottling plant in the Kingfield area, according to Brennan, but the plans depend on the outcome of the referendum.

The Secretary of State has until March 2 to determine the validity of the signatures, and the proposal must go to the Legislature if petition is in order. Legislators either can approve the measure as written or reject it and order a referendum.

Deadlines are approaching for three other citizen's ballot initiatives that may also appear on the ballot a year from November. Signatures for an act to ban slot machines in Maine are due Oct. 4. The deadline is Oct. 21 for an act to create a taxpayer bill of rights and Oct. 28 for a Maine taxpayers relief act.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Portland Press Herald, Maine

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Source: Portland Press Herald

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