(CN) — Environmentalists who want Nestle to stop pumping tens of millions of gallons from a California creek, virtually for free, to sell it as bottled water, have sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for records on the multinational corporation.
The Courage Campaign is calling for Nestle to stop bottling water from at least 12 natural California springs, to sell as Arrowhead and Pure Life bottled water.
Nestle pays the federal government just $524 a year to divert water from the forest, the groups say.
As the second-largest bottler in the state, we’re filling a role many others are filling.
It’s driven by consumer demand; it’s driven by an on-the-go society that needs to hydrate.
The public will have just 30 days to comment on the report after it is issued.
Nestle uses a 4-mile pipeline at the creek for its bottling operations in Ontario, California.
Critics of Nestle’s bottling operations say the Forest Service did not act on renewing the company’s permit for 28 years, and that the water supply in Strawberry Creek was dwindling during the state’s devastating drought.
The International Bottled Water Association, a trade group, claims bottled water accounts for less than 0.01 percent of water use nationwide, and 0.02 percent of water in California each year.
The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.