Initiative to disallow corporation from launching bottling plant in Gorge receives widespread support.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Initiative to disallow Nestle from launching a bottling plant in the Columbia River Gorge receives widespread support.
The local drive for signatures to put a measure on the ballot received three-times the necessary number.
The measure would prohibit any bottled water exports from Hood River County. The Local Water Alliance, which is leading the campaign, believes it’s the first measure of its kind nationwide.
The deal to build a bottling plant in economically depressed Cascade Locks has been in the works for more than six years. It centers on state-owned water rights at nearby Oxbow Springs.
(READ MORE: Statesman Journal)
Supporters of the plant say it will spur economic development for the depressed small rural town.
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