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Wells Activists Aim to Protect Water

June 03, 2009 - WELLS -- Activists worried about Poland Spring's plan to extract water in Wells plan to voice some of their concerns to the Board of Selectmen tonight.

Poland Spring's opponents are focused on a set of regulations to govern large-scale water extraction, now that residents have rejected a ban on water extraction by corporations. The town's Ordinance Review Committee has been working on the regulations and might vote on them at its June 10 meeting. The regulations then would go to selectmen for their consideration.

The activists contend that the ordinance process has been "corrupted" by Poland Spring, which is a subsidiary of Nestle Waters North America.

"I think they're having too much influence," said Jamilla El-Shafei, an organizer with Save Our Water, one of the activist groups. She said she believes that was the case in an earlier proposed contract between the company and the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District.

El-Shafei said she hopes about 30 people who share her view will show up for the public comment section of tonight's meeting.

Bill Gosbee, chairman of the Ordinance Review Committee, said that Poland Spring, the activists who supported the ban and others have all participated in the process.

"We've had input from a lot of people," he said.

Mike Huston, the town's planning and development director, noted that an attorney for Poland Spring made a suggestion at the most recent meeting – one that the committee rejected.

"It certainly isn't a water company-drawn ordinance," he said.

The furor over bottled water has been growing since activists have been fighting a proposed deal between the water district and Poland Spring. Water district trustees indefinitely tabled the proposal last summer after it met with some public opposition.

Last week, trustees voted to end further consideration of the tabled proposal, a move that effectively killed it.

Under the proposal, Poland Spring would have been able to buy a maximum of 432,000 gallons a day of what the water district termed "excess spring water" for $900,000 a year. The district's average daily water usage is about 2.8 million gallons.

Mark Dubois, a natural resource manager for Poland Spring, said the company supports the enactment of "local, legal, scientific-based regulatory ordinances."

"As far as our participation, it is public, it is on the record," he said. "We want to be transparent in our work and dealings, and I think, overall, these regulatory ordinances give control to the town and ensure water resources are protected."

The scope of the ban rejected by voters last month included more than water extraction by corporations. The proposal also asserted that ecosystems have rights and that corporations don't have constitutional rights within the town.

By ANN S. KIM, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, June 2, 2009


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