Up North Progressive

While people in Flint are quickly approaching a thousand days with undrinkable water, the Michigan Department of Environmental IneQuality approved Nestlé Waters’ request to more than double the output of water from the ground in Osceola County and sell it for a profit. This is after a year and a half of written comment, and public hearings.

The Osceola Township Planning Commission informed Nestlé their plans for a new pumping station violated local ordinance. Nestlé next went to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which held up the decision of the planning commission. In November of 2017, Nestlé sued the township, and Judge Susan Sniegowski ruled in December that the planning commission must issue the permit regardless of the ordinance. In January of 2018, Osceola Township voted to file an appeal on the December decision.

While the battle in the courts continue, Nestlé must still meet some requirements for the MDEQ before they can begin doubling their output of groundwater to sell at a profit. Nestlé Waters pays $200 a year to make billions selling water.

Heidi Grether, Director of the MDEQ had this to say about the incredibly unpopular decision despite tens of thousands of people speaking against it.

We cannot base our decisions on public opinion because our department is required to follow the rule of law when making determinations,”

In other words, when it came time for the MDEQ to grant their permit, all of the people who spoke out against Nestlé being allowed to pump 400 gallons a minute virtually free didn’t matter. They had to follow the law in granting the permit.

When it was up to the Osceola County Planning Commission to follow the law in denying Nestlé their building permit to make a bigger pumping station, they were told their law didn’t matter, and give Nestlé what they wanted anyway.

Why do some governing bodies insist they must use the law in deciding if Nestlé can drastically alter the environment in Northern Michigan for profit, but others governing bodies, when they do the same thing are told they can’t follow the law and have to do what Nestlé wants?

When it comes to corporate profits, some laws are more important than others.