Bottling company Poland Spring has subsidized its request to double the amount of water it draws from one of its wells in Hollis after drawing opposition from city dwellers involved in additional extraction amid this summer’s drought.
Local residents, some of whom had dried up the wells, attended two public assemblies to express outrage and call for answers from the bottling giant. The resolution to withdraw the request came just days before the plan council meeting that was scheduled to hear the permit. request.
“Meeting and public hearing canceled for September 14,” a statement from the city of Hollis said Friday. “Poland Spring has withdrawn its candidacy. “
Poland Spring is seeking to double its extraction of 30 million gallons of water a year to 60 million gallons of what it calls Drilling No. 6, one of its wells.
On Friday night, the company showed the Maine Monitor that it was retiring.
“In accordance with our long-standing precept and practice of being a smart neighbor, we have decided that it is in everyone’s interest not to continue at this time. While this assignment recently obtained approval from the Maine DEP, we appreciate the community’s commitment to this permit application, as well as their comments and suggestions,” a Poland Spring spokesperson said in a statement.
The controller reported that BlueTriton Brands, which owns Poland Spring, filed an application in June to modify its license to increase the levy.
Like much of Maine, much of York County experienced drought this summer, and a call request emerged as concerned citizens worried about their wells. of Hollis for about two decades.
Residents have attended two Hollis Planning Board meetings in recent weeks and a third assembly scheduled for Wednesday.
“I’ve never noticed before that so many other people combined like this,” said Barbara Coleman, a local resident.
The city planned to hire an independent hydrologist and other experts to assess demand. Residents were disappointed by the number of Poland Spring trucks passing through the city and the effect of the buildup on water drawn from the aquifer.
In its request and at the August 24 public meeting, Poland Spring insisted that additional extraction was minimal. “Increasing the extraction rate will not deplete or degrade adjacent bodies or water supplies,” the app says.
In his speech Friday night, a spokesman said, “We will continue to be passionate water stewards and report water withdrawals to the City of Hollis and the Maine DEP. “
Experts disagree about the effect of bottlers extracting large amounts of water from nearby wells, and bottled water companies have historically argued that they extract a relatively small amount from Maine’s vast aquifer. However, in 2016, Poland Spring, then owned by Nestlé, reduced its water extraction amid a severe drought, the Portland Press Herald reported at the time.
David Dahl is the editor-in-chief of Maine Monitor. Contact him with concepts for other stories: [email protected] This story was originally published through The Maine Monitor. The Maine Monitor is a local journalism product published through the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic news organization.
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