In May of this year, Hood River County voters passed a ballot initiative banning large-scale comnmercial water bottling facilities in their county, which seemed to unequivocally bring an end to the Nestle Corporation's plans for a massive plant in Cascade Locks.
So why is the state of Oregon still going through the process of considering a water transfer that was a crucial part of the proposed Nestle operation?
And why is a Native American woman, resident of Cascade Locks, holding a five-day fast at the State Capitol in Salem to try to bring attention to this bizarre situation?
Oxbox Springs is currently permitted to the State of oregon to supply water for a salmon and steelhead hatchery run by the oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).
In 2010, at the request of Nestle Waters North America and the City of Cascade locks, then governor Ted Kulongoski directed ODFW to initiate an exchange of water that would trade point five cubic feet per second of the pristine spring water for well water from Cascade Locks' municipal system.
This would have then freed Cascade locks to provide the spring water to Nestle at its normal commercial water rate of around point two cents per gallon.
But the Hood River County ballot measure would make that illegal.
Apparently the state doesn't think so, bhecause it is still considering that original water exchange which would make the Nestle plant possible.
And if that isn't confusing enough, the whole deal is predicated on Nestle itself building the infrastructure for it.
But why would Nestle do that if they can't build the bottling plant itself?
These are questions that activists opposed to the Nestle plant will be asking tomorrow at a press conference and rally at the State Capitol from ten to noon.
Earlier today Paul Roland spoke with Anna Mae Leonard, the Clackamas Chinook and Kalapooya woman holding the five-day fast.
- KBOO