Today marks the start of a 30-day public comment period on a controversial water exchange that would allow Nestlé to bottle and sell water currently being used by endangered fish from the Columbia River Gorge. Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is considering an application from Cascade Locks and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) for a water exchange that would allow the town to sell ODFW’s spring water to Nestlé to bottle.
THE IMPORTANT PART:
Public comments on the Nestlé water exchange should be sent to the Water Resources Department; Attn: Transfer Section, 725 Summer St. NE, Suite A, Salem, OR 97301-1266, Transfer Number 11109. Public comments will close on Sept. 30, after which point it will decide whether or not to approve the exchange.
The Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge coalition members include Food & Water Watch, Alliance for Democracy, Bark, Environment Oregon, Trout Unlimited, Columbia Group Sierra Club and Columbia Riverkeeper. More details about the Cascade Locks water exchange can be found at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/NoNestleinOR or on the Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge Facebook page.
GET THIS: CASINOS IN THE GORGE? DON'T BET ON IT...
The biggest scheme you've never heard of in underway, featuring a massive Vegas-style 60-acre casino development in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. And Yes, Virginia, you're right: that's not even close to legal under state law. The "proposal" has been going through environmental review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and developers consultants for the past three years. If this is a "proposal", I shudder to think of the "Wedding Night"...Last week, the BIA released its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), but has given the public only 30 days to review and comment on this massive 1,578 page document. Riffling through the risible tome one finds rib-ticklers like this: The distance from Warm Springs to Cascade Locks is - wait for it - 37 miles. That's if plan to commute to work via buzzard, and that's assuming your buzzard doesn't stop off on Mt. Hood to snack on the remains of avid hikers who take to the mountain in mid-winter...And there's more. It's not all laughs. The idea behind the deal is simple: For decades resort developers have had their beady little red eyes on the Columbia River Gorge. The only thing stopping the disneyfication of the place is Law. But if the development were a casino. On Indian land. Well that changes the game. The Warm Springs tribal elders are for the most part its matriarchs. But it';s the boys in the band who want to play with the Big Dogs. A heandful of wealthy Warm Springers in a fleet of Escalades has sold out their nation. Or at least they are trying to. Sign the petition to stop the casino at www.gorgefriends.org. Thirty days people, just thirty days...
- KBOO