Could Nestle be giving Siskiyou County the short end of the stick?

Editor's note: this article was first published in the April 16 edition of the West edition of the Pioneer Press. We reprint it here for our readers in Klamath County and Butte Valley because it is another example of water taking across in California .

By Daniel Webster

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones , CA

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

page #E13, column  1

pioneerp@sisqtel.net

Is it possible that Nestle -- the world's largest water bottling conglomerate with brand names such as Perrier, S. Pellegrino, Poland Spring and Arrowhead - could make billions while paying a pittance to the City of McCloud ?

Worse yet, is it possible that the multinational company could simply pump and ship McCloud's crystal clear water  to another bottling plant down south, thereby circumventing the town - and Siskiyou County laws - altogether?

If so, then Leo "T" Bergeron, a Siskiyou County supervisor candidate, isn't buying it.
Bergeron said that the little town of McCloud would be given $350,000 per year in exchange for billions worth of water. But he said the deal was struck behind closed doors and the attorney for the McCloud water district was actually paid for by Nestlé, Bergeron said.

"Nestlé came to town and wooed the little district," he said. "They're five local nice people. They (Nestle) are getting the water for $26.40 per acre foot." But, Bergeron said, "They (Nestle) are paying over $2,000 per acre-foot at its Pure Mountain Spring plant."

That sweet 100-year contract with McCloud came after Nestlé reportedly took some of the McCloud directors south to Palm Springs to show them the bottling operation. But the operation there has depleted its water supply, and so the company now wants the vast water supplies in McCloud. In exchange, they were promising new mega plant - and mega jobs -- in McCloud, along with that $350,000 a year to the city.

Director Doris Dragseth came back mesmerized by the operation in Palm Springs , complete with break rooms and microwaves for the employees. It can't be argued that Nestlé didn't get a great deal when it signed on with McCloud, Bergeron said.

The problem, he said, is that McCloud -and the people of Siskiyou County - might have gotten a bad deal. 

For example, if a draught hits, Nestlé gets first dibs on the water and the town's folk get what's left, he said. Furthermore, the actual water supply is from a shallow aquifer, from the run-off of Mount Shasta , Bergeron said. If Nestlé wants more wells, the McCloud water district must pay for these wells.

But the problem with Nestlé just became more complicated.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, recently announced that it is changing the flood zone in the area. On March 31, 2009 , the entire project would be placed in a flood zone, thus giving Nestlé a rational excuse to not build a bottling plant here and instead hook up a pipeline to ship the water south.

The flood-zone change was started by FEMA in 2002, when Nestlé began its exploration of the McCloud project. It's the only flood zone change FEMA is making in Siskiyou County , according to Bergeron.

"They could then ship the water to the Palm Springs plant where there is no water,"

Bergeron said, circumventing county laws that prevent such business practices.

How much say does the county have in the matter?

The county received a letter of caution which warned about contracting with international companies. Nestlé is a Swiss firm. These contracts come under the World Trade Organization and NAFTA and the rules and regulations of the international contracts may supersede those local, county, state and federal laws.

Bergeron is quick to say that he's not anti-Nestlé.

"I have an open mind, but I'm not in Nestlé's pocket," he said. "There's a strong possibility that this will harm the watershed and affect ranching operations in Squaw Valley ."

But companies like Nestle are some of the most ruthless foes when it comes to business, and they have built a multi-national company that dominates nearly every industry they touch. They are the world's largest water bottling conglomerate, with name brands such as Perrier, S. Pellegrino, Poland Spring and, of course, Arrowhead. Imagine a one million-square-foot building about the size of five mega Wal-Mart Super Centers in McCloud. For some, that would be just fine. But consider that, from that one facility alone, 300 to 600 trucks a day zoom in and out on mountain roads hauling load after load of water. The worst-case scenario is that that mega bottling plant won't even be built at all, but the water will continue to flow south -- and there is no cap on how much water can be exported, Bergeron said.

If it is shown that it isn't feasible to actually bottle the water in a plant in McCloud, it's possible that Nestlé could simply hire a man to turn on and off a facet and pump the water south in trucks or by pipe. And in return for this, the little town of McCloud would be given $350,000 per year.

He will be requesting a full hearing of the Board of Supervisors, if elected, and put all of the issues regarding the Nestlé plant on the table.

"The Board of Supervisors has been driving away business for decades," said Bergeron. "I want to see nice clean businesses come to town."

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