If there is any kind of reasonable justice left in the world, Seven Springs Water Company will lose this case.
Our thanks go to Ryan Smart, Doug McLaughlin and the Florida Springs Council for pursuing this.
Please consider donating to the Florida Springs Council to help do what the State of Florida will not.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
On July 31, Florida Springs Council’s phenomenal attorney Doug McLaughlin filed the Proposed Recommended Order for our “Nestle” case to the administrative law judge.
Back in May, the Florida Springs Council presented our case against the Seven Springs Water Company’s permit to bottle water from Ginnie Springs before the Division of Administrative Hearings. Since then, our lawyers and staff have been working hard to prepare our proposed recommended order.
Executive Director Ryan Smart speaking with attorney Doug McLaughlin at DOAH.
The proposed recommended order is each side’s summary of how the case should be interpreted and ruled. With these proposed recommended orders in hand from each side, the administrative law judge can proceed with providing a final ruling.
The focus of our case, and the proposed recommended order, is that Seven Springs Water Company’s permit is not consistent with the public interest.
DIVE DEEPER
The three-prong test for water-use permits:
A reasonable-beneficial use
Will not interfere with any presently existing legal use of water
Consistent with the public interest
Public interest is defined as “those broad-based interests and concerns that are collectively shared by members of a community or residents of the District or the State.”
We believe the Water Management District and Seven Spring Water Company did not consider the third prong: consistent with the public interest.
Public comments: The District received 19,000 public comments concerning this permit and admits these comments were not evaluated nor did they factor into the evaluation of the public interest or the permit application.
Minimum flows and levels: MFLs are the limit at which further withdrawals will be significantly harmful to the water resources or the ecology of the area.
DEP has determined that the MFL for the Lower Santa Fe River and its associated springs, including Ginnie Springs, is not being met, and a recovery strategy has been adopted by the District for these water bodies.
The renewal of this permit will result in an increase in pumping in an area already suffering significant harm from over-pumping. This increase in harm supports the “broad-based interests and concerns” of the public.
From the Proposed Recommended Order:
“The broad-based interests and concerns of the approximately 19,000 public comments have not been evaluated and considered. There will be an additional impact on the Lower Santa Fe River and its associated springs because of the actual increase in withdrawals. The MFL for the Lower Santa Fe River and its associated springs will soon be re-evaluated. Until that re-evaluation occurs, it is in the public interest to not allow this additional impact to occur.”
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You can read the full Proposed Recommended Order here: https://www.floridaspringscouncil.org/_files/ugd/719d3f_a8acbbbd748346f193e5f71985af2539.pdf
Support this effort by making a one-time donation, visiting our online shop, showing up at events, becoming a sustaining member or spreading the word about the work we do.
Read more about the “Nestle” case on our website at https://www.floridaspringscouncil.org/nestle
so whats the plan nestle owns the world