Thread by @ByIanJames

Some people have asked for more information about Nestlé's bottled water operation in the San Bernardino National Forest. So let me share a chronology of my reporting, starting with our 2015 investigation: desertsun.com/story/news/201… (thread) @MyDesert

In response to our investigation, the U.S. Forest Service said it would examine Nestlé's special-use permit for its water pipeline in the national forest, which listed an expiration date in 1988. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

I requested records & found Nestlé's permit was one of 100s of water-related permits the Forest Service had allowed to fall out-of-date in Calif. The agency largely hadn't studied how taking water from public lands could be affecting streams & wildlife desertsun.com/story/news/env…

I interviewed Gene Zimmerman, the national forest supervisor from 1991-2005, who said the Nestlé permit wasn't renewed for various reasons, among them a lack of sufficient funding and staff. After retiring, Zimmerman did paid consulting work for Nestlé. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

During the drought in 2015, protesters demonstrated outside Nestlé's bottled water plants in Los Angeles and Sacramento, calling for a halt to bottling. They held signs with slogans like “Turn off Nestle’s faucet” and “Stop stealing our water.”
desertsun.com/story/news/201…

We published another investigation:
Review of Nestle water permit neglected for decades
desertsun.com/story/news/env… @jaymcalderon

Documents revealed that in the 1990s and early 2000s, there were discussions within the Forest Service about conducting a review of the permit and carrying out environmental studies, but those steps didn’t lead to action. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

The documents revealed that officials failed to follow through on plans for a permit review. And during one meeting, some in the Forest Service questioned the legal basis for the company’s use of water from the national forest. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Then environmental groups sued the Forest Service for allowing Nestlé to pipe water out of the forest using the old permit. They argued it violated the law and said the taking of water threatened sensitive habitat along Strawberry Creek. desertsun.com/story/news/201…

We kept reporting about the controversy over Nestlé's permit. The Forest Service was charging an annual permit fee of $524 for the water at that time, but there was no charge for the water.
desertsun.com/story/news/201…

The revelations about piping millions of gallons of water out of the national forest sparked an outcry. One group launched a campaign demanding Nestle stop bottling water during the drought, and soon collected more than 185,000 names on its petition. desertsun.com/story/news/201…

In 2016, the Forest Service proposed to issue a new permit to the bottled water company. As proposed, the permit was to be for 5 years, allowing Nestlé to keep piping water out of the national forest and requiring studies on water supplies and habitats. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

The Forest Service’s proposal to grant Nestlé a new permit prompted a flood of written comments from the public, including a petition with more than 280,000 names calling for a thorough review and demanding the agency “turn off the spigot.” desertsun.com/story/news/env…

At the time, records showed Nestlé had piped 36 million gallons of water the previous year from its wells in the San Bernardino National Forest desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Nestlé objected to the Forest Service’s terms for issuing it a new permit to continue piping water out of the national forest, saying the agency was overstepping its authority and infringing on the company’s water rights. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

As the federal court case began in Riverside, activists demonstrated outside the courthouse, holding a banner calling for the Forest Service to “Turn off the spigot.” I covered the demonstration and the court hearing with @jaymcalderon desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Matt Kenna, a lawyer for the environmental groups, said after the hearing: “What’s at stake is, who gets to control our public lands and the water resources on our public lands?" desertsun.com/story/news/env…

In 2016, a judge ruled Nestlé's pipeline permit was valid despite the 1988 expiration date. The reason: The company's predecessor had written to the Forest Service about obtaining a new permit in 1987 and never got a response. @BrettKelman wrote the story:
desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Soon after we published our investigation in 2015, the State Water Board began receiving complaints from people who questioned the company’s claims that it had water rights dating to the 1800s.
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One of those who contacted the state was Amanda Frye. She'd studied papers cited by Nestlé & had doubts. She asked the state to clarify whether Nestlé had valid rights. “If so, are the water rights for surface water or groundwater? Can you provide proof?” desertsun.com/story/news/env…

The company insisted its water rights at Arrowhead Springs were “among the most senior water rights” in California. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

The protests continued. At one rally in the San Bernardino Mountains, a protester said: “The water is on national Forest Service land. ... This is everyone in California’s water. And an international corporation is stealing it and selling it back to us” desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Nestlé's opponents also began questioning whether the water piped from the national forest met the strict requirements under federal regulations to be labeled as “spring water.” desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Through a FOIA request, I obtained emails in which federal officials discussed the "spring water" issue. The national forest's top official suggested in one email that Nestlé may not be complying with the regulations and that the FDA should look into it. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

To investigate, @jaymcalderon and I spent a day visiting several of Nestlé's water sources on the mountainside. There were no signs of any flowing water on the ground – just ferns, thorny bushes, dusty soil and the pipelines. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Documents later surfaced showing the FDA initially told the Forest Service some of the water sources used by Nestlé may not meet the definition of “spring water.” But later an FDA official came to an entirely different conclusion and backed Nestlé. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

While investigating the bottled water operation, @jaymcalderon and I walked for miles through rugged terrain in the San Bernardino National Forest to see spring-fed Strawberry Creek and the horizontal wells on steep mountainsides where water flows into Nestlé's pipes.

In the summer of 2017, we headed upstream along the boulder-strewn creek until we reached a fork. The creek’s east fork was flowing freely, but the west fork — which lies below Nestlé’s boreholes — was just a trickle, with a series of shallow puddles. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

We found that Nestlé’s network of pipes appeared to be siphoning off a significant portion of the water that would otherwise run from mountain springs into this stretch of the creek. desertsun.com/story/news/env… @jaymcalderon

In 2017, California water officials announced the initial findings of their water rights investigation. They said Nestlé didn't appear to have valid water rights for much of the water it was piping out of the national forest. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

State regulators recommended the company limit its use of water from the national forest unless it could show it had valid rights for all the water it was taking. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Nestlé disputed the state investigators' findings, arguing the company was entitled to keep piping water out of the San Bernardino National Forest — even more water than it had been bottling and selling in recent years. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

In 2018, the controversy over Nestlé’s bottled water operation surfaced as an issue in a California congressional campaign.
desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Environmental groups reached a settlement in their legal fight over Nestlé's permit. The Forest Service acquiesced to the groups' arguments that the company couldn't continue to use its old permit, and that the agency needed to quickly finish its review.
desertsun.com/story/news/env…

In 2018, the Forest Service granted Nestlé a new three-year permit to continue operating its water pipeline in the San Bernardino National Forest. The agency said the new permit included "measures to improve the watershed’s health” along Strawberry Creek.
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In 2018, I moved to a new job at The Arizona Republic. My colleagues at The Desert Sun continued to cover the story.

In 2019, @janetwilson66 reported on how Nestlé was continuing to use millions of gallons of water. The company needed to pay about $2,000/year for the permit, but there was no charge for the water. Nestlé said it was legally entitled to every drop.
desertsun.com/story/news/env…

This week, California water officials issued a draft order telling Nestlé to "cease and desist" taking much of the millions of gallons of water it pipes out of the San Bernardino National Forest. desertsun.com/story/news/env…

State regulators said they reviewed thousands of pages of documents and received more than 4,000 comments and complaints from the public, "which significantly expanded the investigation." desertsun.com/story/news/env…

Nestlé Waters North America — which recently was sold and is now BlueTriton Brands — has 20 days to respond. A spokesperson for the company said the findings of the state's investigation "are contrary to California water rights law." desertsun.com/story/news/env…

A spokesperson for the State Water Board said the order for Nestlé/BlueTriton to stop unlawful water diversions "does not preclude the Board pursuing future penalties for violations."
desertsun.com/story/news/env…

That's the chronology. A lot has happened in six years. We brought the story to light and have continued investigating. If you value this sort of journalism, please consider subscribing to support our work.
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