Nestle Corporation & McCloud's Water - Globalization at our Backdoor

from rogue indy's newswire, 06.09.2006 11:04

Nestle corporation & McCloud's aquifer - This is Globalization At Our Backdoor.

Nestle monopolizing a watershed is exactly what the anti-WTO protests are about stopping. Here we have it in our neighborhood, at our backdoor, and we sit and watch?

Northern California is a 3rd world nation.

I appeal to the WTO Seattle crew, the WTO Sacramento crew, and the world wide anti Globalization movement to step forward and stop this privatization of community resources from happening. NESTLE MUST GO.
WTO NO>

(original rogue indy story:  http://rogueimc.org/en/2006/08/7116.shtml )

Nestle's fallacies of logic exposed in DEIR

What's misleading/missing from Nestle's DEIR?

The meeting last night (Aug 22nd) in Mt. Shasta City Park had a great turnout of the public who heard info from several volunteers about crucial info either missing or misleading in the Nestle's DEIR. Public comment period on the 500+ page two volume DEIR (DEIR cost of $300.00, limited hours of availability, try spending your day reading EIRs, lotsa fun, eh?) is now extended til Sept 12th, many are asking for an additional extension due to the large volume of details and missing.inaccurate info..

Some examples of Nestle DEIR's inaccuracy are assumptions of average truck driving distance of only 19 miles, when Redding is 68 miles away from their site.. (regards air quality impacts of added NOx (nitrogen dioxides emmisions from additional truck traffic in region.)

300 trucks coming and going into McCloud would require alterations (acceleration lane, signal, winter chain station, etc..) to the already steep slopes of Highway 89..

Global warming and seasonal drought info was convieniently omitted from the EIR, claiming that Shasta's glacial melting and loss over the 100 year contract between Nestle and McCloud would permit Nestle to continue removing their millions of gallons per year despite predicted drops in the aquifer. Instead the residents of McCloud (& aquatic residents downstream) would be advised to restrict their daily living water consumption while Nestle continue to extract their millions of gallons for profit. To quote an actual number of millions of gallons per year isn't accurate either because Nestle can take as much as they want if there isn't any agency regularly monitoring, their window of permitted takes is quite expansive..

The five year monitoring period following the beginning of Nestle's drawdown of aquifer is insufficient to gauge whether Nestle's take is having an adverse effect, though the five year monitoring is actually listed as mitigation for many of the DEIR's impacts..

The millions of gallons of aquifer water removed would increase the water temps and effect riparian ecosystem. Effects of eutrophication (algae bloom from nitrates) would be increased since cold fresh spring water quantity would be reduced by Nestle's take, increased water temps and less dilution could result in algae bloom when McCloud river's velocity slows upon entering Shasta Lake's arm..

The Winnemem Wintu nation depends on the McCloud river's clean water access for ceremonial sites, and algae blooms would discourage their participation..

Shasta Rainbow trout and (Fluminicola seminalis) aquatic snails, both endemic species of the McCloud watershed, are also at risk from altered riparian conditions from Nestle's excessive springwater pumping..

BLM lists reduction of water flows as risks to Fluminicola seminalis;

"Reductions in water flow by water diversions resulting in elimination or reduction of aquatic habitat for this snail."

Fluminicola seminalis fact sheet @;
 http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/MR/AQMollusks/section3.htm

The Shasta Rainbow remains in the McCloud;

"The world-famous Shasta rainbow trout shares the waters with the exotic (non-native) brown trout, first introduced by sportsmen in the mid-1930s. The McCloud was formerly the southernmost refuge for the bull trout or "Dolly Varden," which is, like the Shasta rainbow, a member of the salmon family. Although once a common sight, the bull trout has not been seen in the McCloud since 1975 and has been declared locally extinct."

from McCloud River preserve @;
 http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/preserves/art9786.html

Many other points about info missing from DEIR were made last night, though due to time constraints cannot be published on imc today. Would suggest attending one of the meeting mentioned in comments above to find out more info..

On another note Aug 22, 2006 is the nine year anniversary of the death of five year old Forrest Hernandez who died suddenly after drinking creek water contaminated by chromium VI, a toxic byproduct of "Remco" corporation's nearby chome plating factory in Willits (Mendocino)..

"Hernandez v. Remco seeks damages against Remco and against Mendocino County officials for covering up and destroying evidence in the unusual death of five-year-old Hernandez, who died of internal bleeding August 22, 1997, after ingesting a small amount of water from Baechtel Creek in the hills outside Willits, three miles upstream from the Remco site."

"The Remco plant in Willits is one of 72 toxic sites around the country owned by Whitman Corporation, (see  http://www.whitmancorp.com), now known as PepsiAmericas, Inc., owners of Midas Mufflers, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Aquafina, Ocean Spray juices, Tropicana, So-Be drinks, and Quaker Oats foods, and a division of DuPont also affiliated with PepsiCo and Frito-Lay."

more info @;
 http://www.earthspeak.org/

The Remco site in Willits remains closed since 1995 and has yet to be cleaned up. Ironically another bottled water/soft drink giant Pepsi is responsible for cleaning up after their subsidiary Remco, though refuses to do so..

The nine year anniversary of Forrest Hernandez's death and the first community meeting about Nestle's megabottling plant in McCloud on Aug 22nd reminds us that once a watershed is contaminated, it is VERY difficult to clean up. The responsible corporation (Remco, Nestle, etc..) usually leaves town following the "accident" (ie, aquifer cavern collapse, toxic metal leaching, etc..) with no reparations and leaves the PEOPLE (not city/county council politicians) to foot the (unaffordable) bill of clean-up and continue living, eating and drinking next to the contaminated site..

Preventing the Nestle megabottling facility on the McCloud River aquifer is possible and probable following succesful community organizing and networking with other community groups who have already dealt with Nestle. Then there's the eviction of Coca-cola/Dannon from the Sacramento aquifer/headwaters, though that's for another story..

Specific impact/mitigation errors, inaccuracies and assumptions found in Nestle's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR);

The 500+ plus page (300.00 dollar cost) DEIR for Nestle's McCloud megabottling facility contains numerous errors, fallacies and assumptions. Nestle's strategy is making the DEIR appear so intimidating and threatening in sheer volume of paper (aka dead trees) that the public won't feel motivated to pick it up and look through it. However, upon further examination, Nestle's DEIR is full of as many holes in logic as Swiss cheese..

Here are just a few examples;

Impact 3.4.1; Air impact, dust from contruction. Mitigation; dust abatement (ie. truck spraying water on ground).

Impact 3.3.1; Truck traffic, 15% (45 trucks/day) head east on Hgwy 89, 85% (255 trucks/day) head west on 89, traffic build-up on Squaw Valley road intersection. Mitigation; traffic signal, 0.2 mile acceleration lane. Without mitigation, residents spend 85% of time following 40 mph trucks, with mitigation, residents spend 65% of time following 40 mph trucks.

Impact 3.7.4; Noise pollution of 24/7 bottling facility. Hums, clanging and other factory noises disturb peaceful setting of McCloud. Mitigation; "sound-proof" concrete wall.

Noise will not go away because of a barrier wall, the quality of life for McCloud residents/visitors will be forever (100 year contract) altered if Nestle begins operation. The allowable 5 decibel increase of Nestle's operations is on an exponential scale.

Impact 3.5.18; Biological impact on Squaw Valley Creek from excess aquifer/headwater withdrawal/export by Nestle. Mitigation; Five year monitoring study (NO BASELINE DATA EXISTS!) that would cease following five year period.

McCloud river rainbow trout depend on Squaw Valley Creek as spawning ground. Approx. water take by Nestle is estimated to be at least 1,600 acre feet/year (over 1/2 billion gallons/year). This indicates severe loss of cold water source needed by trout for maintaining high enough levels of dissolved oxygen for them to breathe. Removing excess quantities of cold water from spawning creek is similar to suffocating rainbow trout with a blanket.

Lack of baseline flow data for springs, streams and groundwater. Lack of baseline data for water budget (recharge/year), safe recharge yield and effects of prolonged drought (average drought lasts beyond five year monitoring period) and climate change indicate lack of planning and foresight in preparation of Nestle's DEIR..

The following impacts are listed under 'mitigation impossible' because Nestle knows that no mitigation exists beyond their "five year study" based on no initial data..

Impact 3.9.3; Erosion, siltation. Drilling wells and leveling of land for one million square foot building will alter topography to encourage erosion. Mitigation impossible.

Impact 3.9.4; Run-off. One million square foot building and additional parking/truck ramp will increase run-off surface area, introducing toxins from parking lot into tributary creeks. Mitigation impossible.

Impact 3.9.8; River water flow reduction. Less volume of cold spring water for downstream riparian habitat. Mitigation impossible.

Impact 3.5.20 Fluminicola aquatic snail. Endemic to McCloud ecosystem, depends on cold water. Mitigation impossible.

Impact 3.14.4; Cumulative impact. Over time the riparian habitat will lose biodiversity. Previous evidence with Nestle/Perrier/Zephyrhills aquifer drawdown (including aquifer cavern collapse, sinkholes, etc..) in Florida's Crystal Springs (headwaters of Hillsborough River) shows this is probable for McCloud. Mitigation impossible.

DEIR assumes peak water flows in summer simultaneous with peak consumption. Assumption based on previous study of larger "growing" glaciers on Shasta's shaded northern slope (Whitney, Bolam), while the smaller glaciers (Mud Creek, Konwakiton) feeding McCloud aquifer are located on sunny southern slope and would be more susceptible to loss following prolonged warming of climate (aka global warming)..

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) missing in DEIR for cleaning products "E-Vap-O-Clean", "Vortexx" used in Nestle's operation. These cleaning products would be stored in open waste ponds, though public is unaware of health risks from these products.

Socioeconomic factors;

McCloud is becoming popular with tourists from around the world, many small locally owned businesses thrive on the visitors to this pristine mountain streamside setting. The domination of Nestle's megabottling facility would decrease tourist revenue and result in dependecy on only one corporation with few local jobs. Modern megabottling facilities are nearly fully automated and require few employees for operation..

Nestle pays only 0.00014 cents/gallon for McCloud river water, though profits exponentially from selling their water in petrochemically derived toxin leaching plastic water bottles to consumers. Safe, clean and healthy water is a human right and cannot be sold for profit..

Winnemem Wintu nation depends on the McCloud River for ceremonial sites and food gathering. Wintu's cultural and spritual dependecy on a healthy McCloud river is ignored by Nestle's DEIR..

 http://www.honorearth.org/whatsnew/wintu.htm

 http://www.winnememwintu.us/

The community finds Nestle's DEIR as inadequate evidence of safety for the ecological and economic risks that will be taken and incurred by the greater McCloud bioregion..

reclaim the commons>

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McCloud Watershed Chairman 16.09.2006 - 14:09 Thank you for posting our fight with Nestle on your site. You can download the contract and fact sheet from our site at wwww.mccloudwater.com Please write letters to Siskiyou County Planning Dept and Siskiyou County Supervisors letting them know how you feel about this projec, info is on our site. Debra Debra Anderson> e-mail:: KENANDDEBRA@SABER.NET Homepage:: http://www.mccloudwatershedcouncil.org