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Court Orders Plant to Limit Pumping of Water

Posted on: Friday, 2 December 2005, 00:00 CST

By Hugh Mcdiarmid Jr., Detroit Free Press

Dec. 1--A controversial bottled water plant near Big Rapids may continue pumping groundwater for its Ice Mountain brand, but must slash the amount it takes so that streams and wetlands won't be harmed, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in a decision released Wednesday.

Neither side in the case could claim a clear victory. At stake are water use precedents with repercussions for the environment, the ease of industry's access to Michigan water and the state's ability to prevent large-scale export of water to other states or nations.

In Wednesday's ruling, the three-judge panel sided with Nestle Waters Inc. -- Ice Mountain's parent company -- by overruling a 2003 local judge's order to halt the pumping. The plant has been pumping under a temporary injunction since then.

But the panel sided with environmental groups and a lower court judge who found that the Nestle Waters plant's 400-gallon per minute maximum pumping rate was likely to reduce water levels and harm natural features in the area.

The appeals court sent the matter back to Mecosta County Circuit Court to determine how much water Nestle could pump without harm. In the meantime, the court ordered Nestle not to exceed 200 gallons per minute.

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NSRGY, NESN,

Source: Detroit Free Press

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