Jefferson Co. Foundation Submits Letter Of Concerns Over Proposed Water Bottle Plant

Plans for a controversial water bottling plant in Jefferson County will require modification after a vote from the local planning commission. But even with modifications, some say concerns about the project remain.

The Jefferson County Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to protect local heritage and ecology, submitted a letter to the Jefferson County Planning Commission listing some of these issues. President Christine Wimer talked to Jack Walker about the letter, and worries being raised by the community of Middleway regarding Mountain Pure Water Bottling Facility.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Walker: Could you tell me about the plans for the water bottling facility, and what concerns residents have over them?

Wimer: From an environmental standpoint and a natural resources standpoint, the big problem here is the water. They’re seeking to extract groundwater, bottle it, treat it and sell it outside of the county. So we really are concerned that that will negatively impact the environment and the groundwater as a resource. Anecdotally — and it seems unfortunate to say anecdotally, but it’s not a scientific measurement —but farmers, who are scientists in their own rights, have noticed for decades that groundwater resources are receding in Jefferson County. We are concerned because farming, agriculture, the equine industry and, quite frankly, tourism — our local economy is based in those three synergistic industries — they rely heavily on water resources, and specifically groundwater resources. It is our concern that a development such as this would cause groundwater drawdown, and that would negatively impact the other sectors of our economy.

The other problem is obviously the traffic. The traffic pattern and the heavy truck traffic is a concern for local residents right in Middleway and right around Middleway. That’s not quite as widely impactful, but there also [could] be negative impacts on the historical resources in the historical district of Middleway.

Walker: Can you tell me about the letter your nonprofit submitted to the Jefferson County Planning Commission?

Wimer: When we start looking over something, start evaluating something, we start always from the position of just trying to figure out the facts. There was not that much information in the concept plan here. So, we really had to do quite a bit of research to try to find out what was happening here. The first glaring thing for us was that there was no information about where the water is coming from. It’s a water bottling plant, so where the water is coming from is a very integral piece of information to understanding the land use. So we went on a search to try to understand more about what was happening here.

The other thing the foundation does is, when we become aware of a project like this that we think is going to impact a community, we try to communicate with people in that community. … So we talk to community members and try to really: one, let them know that the thing is happening and, two, try to understand their concerns and help them find information that will help them better understand how this project will impact them.

Then, because of the way that these hearings work, the public is unfortunately not allowed to present expert witnesses. The company does, but the public is unfortunately not allowed to. And so, the way we approach these generally is we write a presentation with advice from our attorneys and our experts and scientific experts, and then also the concerned citizens from the area and our group at the foundation.

Walker: Do you think the planning commission should consider concerns like these in its decision-making process?

Wimer: I think that it is well within the scope of what they are doing for them to evaluate whether this aligns with the zoning ordinance in Jefferson County and the development regulations in Jefferson County, and then also to evaluate the application itself.

We find it interesting that during the presentation, the representative for the company, Mark Dyck, repeatedly said that there was no difference in state code between agricultural wells and other large-quantity user wells. In state code, in the Water Resources Protection Act, it defines large-quantity users. In the last sentence of the definition, it says that large quantity users excludes wells for farm use.

Very clearly, the state government has made a distinction between large-quantity user water extraction wells and farm wells. Those farm wells include wells for irrigation, wells for watering animals and that type of thing. We believe that that was a misrepresentation of the state code, and there is a very clear difference between large-quantity users and farming wells.

Walker: What does your organization hope for the future of this project?

Wimer: We’ve agreed that this site should be utilized. But we believe that it should be utilized in a way that lifts up the community and honors the community, its history, its current economy. Not something that just extracts.

View the Jefferson County Foundation’s full letter here: