State Green Party Press Release

Green Party of Michigan

Michigan Greens Join Sweetwater Alliance in Supporting Ice Mountain Boycott (Correction).

Marc Reichardt -- Chair, GPMI phone: 734-668-9628 e-mail: treasurer@migreens.org

On May 24, the Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) sent out a press release entitled "Michigan Greens Join Sweetwater Alliance in Supporting Ice Mountain Boycott." In that article, several statements were unintentionally misattributed to Dr. Marty Kaufman, head of the Earth Sciences Department at the University of Michigan-Flint.

During his presentation at a state membership meeting of GPMI, Dr. Kaufman did not directly address the issue of possible environmental impacts of Perrier/Nestle's Ice Mountain plant in Mecosta County, and never explicitly stated or inferred that Perrier's withdrawal of groundwater in Michigan or elsewhere would deplete (or has depleted) the aquifer(s). Neither did Dr. Kaufman review the history of Perrier/Nestle water-extraction plants in Florida and Pennsylvania, nor the resistance which drove the corporation out of Wisconsin. This was done by others present.

Dr. Kaufman did review the history of water resources in the United States, and how the management of water resources came to be assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers and other large engineering groups.

Dr. Kaufman concluded his remarks by asking why people were willing to spend many times the price of treated water for bottled water. He suggested that this may be due to people's lack of confidence in the water supply, but also stated that it may be due to the failure of the state and federal governments to adequately fund the Clean Water Act.

In that same article, Tom Mair, a resident of northern Michigan and an activist involved in local protests of the Mecosta County Ice Mountain plant, was quoted as saying, "The water is being taken out from under our feet. The neighbors of the wells are experiencing lower water pressure. The neighbors will have to drill deeper wells at their own cost."

Perrier, through a representative, has since claimed that these statements are "false".

Perrier/Nestle's bottling of ground water in several states -- including Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and now Michigan -- has been the focus of a number of lawsuits and new legislation aimed at controlling water use, as well as numerous activism campaigns and protests. A number of Michigan groups -- including Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation and the Sweetwater Alliance -- have called for a boycott of Perrier/Nestle products. The following web sites offer additional information about activism surrounding Perrier's bottling and selling of ground water:

www.saveamericaswater.com (nationwide information)
www.savemiwater.org (Michigan)
www.saveourspringsinc.org (Florida)
www.friendsofthemecan.com (Wisconsin)