Gov. Brown seeks to halt Nestle water swap plans

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Gov. Kate Brown has asked a state agency to cancel plans for a water swap that would have allowed Nestle to access the valuable spring water it wants.
 
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the water transfer is a key part of Nestle’s plans to build a $50 million water bottling plant in Cascade Locks.
 
Hood River County voted in May 2016 to ban commercial water bottling. Most voters in the city of Cascade Locks, however, favored letting Nestle in, and city leaders have been pursuing a water rights transfer with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife that would allow it to sell water from Oxbow Springs to Nestle.
 
Brown on Friday asked the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to withdraw its application for the swap.
 
The governor wrote the agency’s director, Curt Melcher, saying the ballot measure makes the goal of the water exchange uncertain. Brown says she is also worried about spending additional state money for an uncertain outcome.
 
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Information from: KOPB-, http://www.opb.org