Archives
September 23, 2009
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September 22, 2009
Dear Bruce,
What impact do you believe your facility in Chaffee County would have on the rafting industry down the Arkansas River? - KC
Dear KC,
Thank you for your inquiry. As you may be aware, the Ruby Mountain Springs site is located at the gateway to Browns Canyon on the Arkansas River, one of the most rafted stretches of river in the US. Early in our evaluation of the sustainability of harvesting spring water from these high quality and prolific springs, we became aware of the sensitivity of this unique area. Through our stakeholder approach and outreach to entities such as the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Arkansas River Outfitters Association, and Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, we specifically modified our proposed project to address concerns raised. As a result, we believe that you will find that our presence at this location will significantly enhance the rafting experience along this stretch of the Arkansas River.
First, Nestle Waters’ withdrawal of spring water from Ruby Mountain will be less than 0.3 cubic feet per second (cfs). The Arkansas River during low-flow conditions flows about 300 cfs and during the rafting season 1,000 cfs or more. You can see that our withdrawal will be minute compared to the river flow. More importantly, as required by state law, we will be augmenting (replacing) the water that would normally go into the river by releasing water leased from Aurora held in Twin Lakes to assure no reduction in river flows.
Nestle will be constructing an expensive 5-mile long underground pipeline to convey spring water to a loading facility located at an existing truck stop in Johnson Village on US Highway 285. That pipeline will keep our trucks off local roadways, which already experience heavy summertime recreational traffic.
We will also be granting to the County a permanent right of way through Nestle-owned land so that public access to the AHRA park by rafters, anglers, and campers is insured in the future.
Because Nestle Waters is committed to environmental and resource conservation, we often invest significant effort at our spring sites to restore and maintain the surrounding natural habitat to its highest value. At Ruby Mountain, we will be removing all of the buildings and the dilapidated fish hatchery, and restoring the natural wetland and riparian setting of the springs site. We will use a stakeholder approach to designing this restoration project relying on agencies such as the CDOW and Army Corps of Engineers and other experts including Colorado Mountain College Natural Resource Management Program. When complete, the restoration project will significantly enhance the experience of the thousands of rafters and anglers that pass the site every year.
We are working with the CDOW at this time to provide a public in-stream fishing access on the Nestle-controlled properties to increase the angling opportunities on the Arkansas River.
Finally, Nestle Waters will place its two parcels, totaling about 115 acres, along the river in a permanent conservation easement thus protecting this land from further development.
If I can provide you with additional information about our Chaffee County project or other operations around the Country, or if you would like to take a site tour, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks, Bruce
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August 19, 2009
Company will preserve more than 115 acres along Arkansas River, provide $500,000 endowment for education, and participate and invest in habitat restoration.
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August 9, 2009
Nestle Waters North America donates more than 30,000 bottles to assist community of Blende, CO
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July 15, 2009
Nestlé Waters continues to work collaboratively with County Staff and local Chaffee County citizens.
New additions to Nestlé Waters’ Spring Water project includes a comprehensive community giving effort that will provide:a $500,000 endowment for local education initiatives thus serving as a long-term commitment that will benefit both the Salida and Buena Vista Schools; a permanent conservation easement to protect Nestlé’s 115 acres along the Arkansas River; in-stream fishing access at the Ruby Mountain and Bighorn Spring Sites; multi-million dollar local contracts to Chaffee County construction companies to construct the five-mile pipeline; programmatic annual giving to locally identified needs in the community; opportunities for environmentally-focused field work with local college and high schoo lstudents; a comprehensive, million-dollar restoration project of the Ruby Mountain fish hatchery (which will incorporate a number of local agencies and interested groups); and a commitment to hire at least 50% of its truck drivers from the local area. Currently, Nestlé’s trucking company has identified more than six qualified local truck drivers in Chaffee County to support this project.
To date, Nestlé Waters has supported a number of local community projects and programs within Chaffee County. During the last 12 months, the company provided product and/or cash donations to the Chaffee County Fair, Chaffee County 4-H, Neighbor to Neighbor, Paddle Fest, Buena Vista Little League teams, Buena Vista High School After-Prom, Collegiate Peaks Music Festival, and more. If Nestlé Waters’ project is approved in Chaffee County, the company will continue to be a very active philanthropic partner in the community.
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July 12, 2009
Nestlé Waters would like to respond to Delia Malone’s open letter as presented in the July 10 online post on the Salidacitizen.com blog site. Ms. Malone’s letter reveals her personal bias against bottled water and Nestlé’s proposed Chaffee County project. Her letter shows a continued unwillingness to base her judgment of the project on science and facts. We make the following points to address some of the accusations and issues raised by Ms. Malone.
An open letter to the Citizens and Residents of Chaffee County,
During the summer of 2008 I had the privilege to live and work in Chaffee County surveying and documenting wetland plant species and natural communities. Chaffee County indeed has a rich and varied landscape with correspondingly diverse and unique natural communities of life. From Chaffee County’s high alpine fens to high desert wetlands, water, and its availability, is the single most important factor in determining wetland versus desert, forest versus scrubland, and abundance versus scarcity. Water is our most precious resource – water makes the difference between lush agricultural fields and dried up crops and blowing soil, and between fish in the river and algal blooms and bacteria that suck life-giving oxygen out of streams.
Even seemingly small amounts of water are essential to life in an otherwise arid landscape – in the West, every drop of water is precious.
Nestlé agrees with Ms. Malone that water is a precious resource. Water should be conserved for the health of the environment, and carefully managed as a renewable resource to provide for the many beneficial uses for people. Drinking pure water is one of those vital uses, and Nestlé has been providing high-quality bottled water for generations, including when disasters strike, causing no harm to its numerous source springs or their associated environments.
Nestlé Company is clearly aware of just how precious your water is – demonstrated by their willingness to cajole and strong arm their way to taking water from the Ruby Mountain springs. Ms. Malone’s negative comments and accusations about Nestlé’s behavior in Chaffee County are baseless. Nestlé has employed an open, honest dialogue with the citizens of Chaffee County both within and outside the permitting process. Over the course of the last year, Nestlé has provided tours of the spring sites to more than 150 local residents, representing a wide variety of interest groups. Presentations have been made to more than 250 people through such groups as the Rotary, The League of Women Voters, Trout Unlimited, and the Optimists. Nestlé took this effort to stakeholder groups to provide information about the project and to receive input. It is clear from Ms. Malone’s comment that she is either unaware of Nestlé’s stakeholder inclusion in Chaffee County, or she chooses to minimize the efforts that many local citizens have made to become informed and productively involved in the process.
Now I won’t comment here on the environmental devastation wreaked upon the earth and the oceans from the disposable plastic water bottle industry except to say that the effects are heinous and far-reaching, impacting the very base of the food chain that sustains us all. Ms. Malone’s letter raises a very important issue regarding the impact to the earth and oceans from inappropriate disposal of plastic bottles. She unjustly places the blame on the bottled water industry, however. Most of our society’s food and drink, as well as countless other household items, are packaged in plastic. Plastic provides a safe, convenient, and inexpensive container for preserving these products. The potential damage of plastic to the environment can and should be avoided through reduction, reuse, and consumer recycling. In fact, in a few states, recycling rates approach 100%. However, we all must do a better job to address this issue. Nestlé has shown its commitment to the environment by producing completely recyclable bottles, light-weighting (reducing plastic in) its bottles, reducing packaging, stimulating recycling efforts in communities and with partner companies such as Waste Management and Keep America Beautiful, and regionalizing its bottling facilities to reduce transportation.
I will, and have, commented on the sustainability of the proposed withdrawals of water from Ruby Mountain; in essence, I don’t believe that Nestlé has shown their proposed drawdowns to be sustainable – I believe they are not. Ms. Malone questions the sustainability of the Nestlé’s spring-water harvest without providing any corroborating evidence. Good business practice and regulatory permitting require evidence for making sound decisions. Nestlé has demonstrated through more than 2 years of monitoring and several pump tests even during low flow seasons, that its withdrawal represents a small fraction (less than 10%) of the spring flows at Ruby Mountain.
During those pumping tests, none of the spring orifices at Ruby Mountain experienced perceptible reductions in flow, even at higher pumping rates than will be used when harvesting spring water. Measurements of water levels in near-by monitoring wells showed that drawdown of the water table associated with pumping was localized. During a 3-day pump test in 2008, monitoring wells within a few hundred feet of the pumping well showed reduction in the water table of just a few inches, while at a well 1,300 feet away no decline in water table was detected. An engineering analysis of the pumping data, which used an unrealistically conservative assumption of no recharge to the aquifer, demonstrated that even if pumped for another 180 days, the further decline in water table at the pumping well would be less than 6 inches. By contrast, natural seasonal variations in water level in the location of the Ruby Mountain site are in excess of 5 feet. This information provides compelling scientific evidence that Nestlé’s spring-water harvest is fully sustainable.
Notwithstanding, Nestlé must replace all the water that it harvests through augmentation to the Arkansas River. Nestlé’s lease of water from Aurora provides for a simple, reliable plan to replace the Nestlé’s water withdrawal in time, location, and amount. Additionally, Aurora’s water portfolio is managed under existing court decrees and agreements with other water users and providers, such as the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District to be protective of these entities. Accordingly, the river and its users will not experience any negative effect from Nestlé’s withdrawal. In fact, up-stream from Ruby Mountain to Twin Lakes, the river will actually experience a slight increase in flows.
The W.W. Wheeler report, when reviewing the Nestlé project on behalf of the County, made the following conclusions. “This amount of diversion would not be discernable to water users along the river… If NWNA provides full replacement of its depletions, as planned, at Twin Lakes under the Aurora lease, there would be no net depletions to the surface flow of the Arkansas River in Chaffee County (p.2). In our opinion, there is no significant water quality impact associated with this project (p.6).…we do not anticipate that this project will ever cause drastic changes to the stream-flow or groundwater, even in the event of severe climate change (p.7)…”
Yes, the proposed project is impacting only one small spring in all of Chaffee County – however, the fallacy of this sort of thinking is that we discount the concept of cumulative impacts and we ignore the idea that there is an additive and compounding effect each and every time we alter natural systems such as by depleting natural spring flows. Eventually these changes add up, they accumulate, to result in environmental degradation. Now I’m not saying that the proposed Nestlé project will result in environmental collapse but I am saying that it will certainly contribute to the degradation of the natural and societal communities in Chaffee County. Ms. Malone asserts that Nestlé’s project in Chaffee County will degrade the natural communities. We can only assume that her belief is largely based on her concerns for potential impacts to wetlands that may have occurred at Bighorn Springs if pumping had occurred. The removal of Bighorn Springs from the permit application was made in May 2009. While we do not believe impacts would have occurred with pumping there, the Bighorn Springs will not be harvested and the springs and surrounding land conserved and subject to a Land Management Plan. There will be significant improvement to habitat on this property because of Nestlé’s stewardship. At Ruby Mountain, a complete restoration of the property and hatchery will be done by Nestlé, in partnership with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Army Corps of Engineers, to re-create wetland and riparian habitat that once flourished there. We find Ms. Malone’s assertion about degradation of natural communities to be incongruous with the facts and Nestlé’s 1041 permit commitments.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) is charged with the important regulatory role of managing wildlife and habitat. The CDOW also serves as a review agency for the County in the 1041 permitting process. At least four CDOW biologists with diverse expertise in fisheries, wetlands, and wildlife reviewed the Nestlé applications. The CDOW has advised the County in writing and testimony that the proposed project is not expected to negatively impact wildlife or wildlife habitat, but may result in significant benefit to wildlife habitat.
At best Nestlé has shown contempt for the Chaffee County 1041 regulations – these regulations were established in an effort to maintain the quality of life in the County and are clear with regard to the requirements regarding the sustainability of such projects – independent professional opinions question both the methods and conclusions reached by Nestlé. It should be remembered that the Final Colorado Natural Heritage Program Report states that, “Based on our review of these [Nestlé’s] documents, we feel the activities defined therein bring NWNA into compliance with the County’s 1041 regulations regarding impacts on natural resources in the project area.” Ms. Malone signed that report.
In fact, out of respect for the County regulations and public process, Nestlé prepared a thorough permit application which was submitted to the County and made public in November 2008. It was accepted by the County as complete in December 2008, and since that time Nestlé has provided numerous documents providing additional information requested by the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners. Nestlé has participated in the public process, even allowing for several extensions of the code-specified deadlines to allow for adequate review and feedback. Nestlé has repeatedly responded to legitimate concerns raised by these boards, staff, and the public and modified its project accordingly. Most recently, Nestlé’s willingness to remove spring water production at Bighorn Springs, permanently conserve its land, and provide fishing access are examples of Nestlé’s respect for the process. Nestlé has not only met, but exceeded the requirements of the County’s 1041 regulations.
Nestlé has also shown disregard for the science of Climate Change by brushing it aside with the statement that consideration of Climate Change is not required in the regulations. Ms. Malone accuses Nestlé of disregarding the science of climate change. This is simply not true. Climate models are complicated scientific studies and regional models for Colorado show a wide variety of predictions. As additional data are collected and models are refined, they may be of greater value as predictive tools. Having said that, Nestlé’s proposed Chaffee County operations specifically consider the effects of drought from any number of causes, including climate change. Nestlé has carefully selected and studied the springs that it proposes to harvest water from, and it has planned its withdrawal rates to be protective of the springs and their environment and be sustainable even during low-flow (drought) conditions. This is good environmental and business practice.
There are operational and legal safeguards in place that specifically take into account drought caused by any factor including climate change. Operationally, the shallow wells are designed in such a way to be self-regulating – withdrawal rates being subject to the amount of water available in a given season. Further, the pumping rate represents a small fraction of the spring flow which is sustainable as discussed previously. Legally, Nestlé’s withdrawals will be monitored and regulated by the State Engineers Office. In the course of operation when seasonal fluctuations or a drought occurs, the SEO requires all water right owners to comply with the law and adjust their usage accordingly. Finally, Nestlé’s lease with Aurora specifically calls for cessation of pumping in the case of a Stage 3 drought, regardless of the cause of that drought.
Long-term sustainability requires us to consider the impact of all of our actions to those around us and to act responsibly – in “The Tragedy of the Commons” every farmer tried to maximize his profits by grazing as many cattle as possible on the publicly owned commons – the tragedy of course is that the pasture was rapidly overgrazed and then no one profited. This Nestlé proposal is a bit like that – in their quest for rapid, short-term profit they’ve shown little consideration of impacts to surrounding human and natural communities. Ms. Malone provides an interesting analogy of farmers, who, for short-term profits, maximized the grazing of the publicly-owned land to their detriment. She attempts to paint Nestlé’s proposed operation with the same brush. Nestlé would make two important distinctions. First, Nestlé is not acquiring a publicly-owned resource. Secondly, Nestlé, like the responsible ranchers in Chaffee County, values the spring-water resource and the land, and has committed to being a good steward of both. It is the caring property owner that is not after a “quick buck” but cares about a long-term livelihood that conserves the resource and manages it sustainably to ensure that it remains available for productive use for generations to come. Nestlé has demonstrated this stewardship throughout its spring sites across the nation, and will do the same in Chaffee County.
Regarding Ms. Malone’s implications that Nestlé’s presence in Chaffee County will degrade the human community, she may be unaware of that which Nestlé has already done for the community, and is planning to do to demonstrate its community citizenship (some of which are voluntary conditions by Nestlé to its 1041 permit application). Nestlé’s Chaffee County Spring Water project includes a comprehensive community giving effort that will provide: a $500,000 endowment for local education initiatives thus serving as a long-term commitment that will benefit both the Salida and Buena Vista Schools; a permanent conservation easement to protect Nestlé’s 115 acres along the Arkansas River; in-stream fishing access at the Ruby Mountain and Bighorn Spring Sites; multi-million dollar local contracts to Chaffee County construction companies to construct the five-mile pipeline; programmatic annual giving to locally identified needs in the community; opportunities for environmentally-focused field work with local college and high school students; a significant and comprehensive restoration project of the Ruby Mountain fish hatchery (which will incorporate a number of local agencies and interested groups); and a commitment to hire at least 50% of its truck drivers from the local area. Currently, Nestlé’s trucking company has identified several qualified local truck drivers in Chaffee County to support this project.
Nestlé has already been supportive of local projects and programs within Chaffee County. During the last 12 months, the company provided product and/or cash donations to the Chaffee County Fair, Chaffee County 4-H, Neighbor to Neighbor, PaddleFest, Buena Vista Little League teams, Buena Vista High School After-Prom, Collegiate Peaks Music Festival, and more.
I wish you all the very best in preventing this small but significant tragedy.
– Delia Malone, Redstone, Colorado
Nestlé wants to express its gratitude to the citizens and organizations in Chaffee County that have taken the time to become informed and participate in the process, helping to shape our project to better serve the local community. We also appreciate the hard work and diligence of the County boards in reviewing our application and the voluminous supporting documentation and look forward to approval of our permits and becoming a corporate community member. Nestlé is committed to the stewardship of the natural resources at its sites in Chaffee County and assisting in preserving the rural-ranching character that so many have come to cherish in this part of Colorado.
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May 4, 2009
If Nestlé Waters’ Nathrop spring water project is approved, 4-5 months of construction would begin immediately on pipeline, truck loading station, and wellhouse.
Chaffee County, CO – Nestlé Waters North America has hired local Chaffee County construction companies Moltz Construction, ACA Products, and Miles Construction, to service construction work of a load station, a wellhouse, and a 4.5 mile pipeline from Nestlé Waters’ spring source to a truck loading station in Johnson Village. The investment will equal more than $2 million dollars.
Moltz Construction has been contracted to build the truck loading station and wellhouse. The scope of work consists of site work, building construction, and utility installation. The pipeline construction, which was awarded to ACA Products and Miles Construction, involves trench excavation, pipe installation, backfill, and revegetation.
Representatives from these local contractors said: “The commitment by Nestle to contract the construction portion of the water project to Chaffee County contractors is a show of commitment on the part of Nestle to have a positive economic benefit to the county for the long term. By providing jobs, the Nestle water project will positively impact 31+ of our employees economically who will have varied roles in the project from management, administration, construction, materials production, and delivery, which will in turn benefit the County through the spending of those funds locally. We are grateful for the work that the project will create for our employees during economically worsening times.”
“We appreciate Nestles’ dedication to the local contractors and look forward to the opportunity to work with them on the proposed project. This project would not only keep our employees working but enable us to hire additional personnel. Using a local company ensures wages earned will stay in the County and benefit the County several times over. With a long history in Chaffee County, we are not looking to compromise local resources in exchange for a short term contract. We have been in the County for decades having grown up and raised families here and we feel Nestle would be a positive asset to the valley.”
“Since 2007, when we began our initial work in Chaffee County, we said that hiring locally was an important component of this project,” said Brent Clay, Project Engineer for Nestlé Waters North America. “Should our project be approved, we look forward to working with qualified companies like Moltz, ACA, and Miles. In addition to these three local contracts, Nestlé Waters is still pursuing local qualified surveyors, and electrical, metal fabrication, and process piping contractors.”
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April 17, 2009
Nestlé Waters North America’s second traffic study, to specifically study the Trout Creek Corridor, can be found here.
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April 14, 2009
Nestlé Waters North America’s trucking company commits to hiring at least 50% of its drivers from Chaffee County.
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April 8, 2009
The final report by The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) was made available on Monday, April 6th, 2009. I believe this final report provides an accurate and objective scientific analysis of Nestlé Waters Chaffee County project as it relates to specific 1041 permit requirements regarding potential wetlands and wildlife impacts.
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March 31, 2009
Dear Chaffee County Residents:
There is much interest and discussion by local community members about Nestlé Waters’ proposed spring water development near Nathrop. Water is of vital interest in Colorado, and as a large company seeking to operate in rural Chaffee County we expect that people will have important questions and concerns. As the Nestlé Waters project manager in Chaffee County, I’d like to provide more information and clarification in response to questions and statements that have been raised by residents, particularly those who attended the recent public hearings before both the County Planning and Zoning and Board of Commissioners. Please consider the following.
The County Permitting Process
Nestlé Waters requires two permits from the County: (1) a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) to develop a water supply in an area currently zoned rural or commercial and, (2) a 1041 Permit to identify and mitigate any potential impacts from the proposed project. Nestlé Waters must follow Chaffee County’s specific permitting requirements before any operations can begin. The permitting process is rigorous and includes over two years of data collection and scientific research that is subject to review by Chaffee County staff, other regulatory review agencies, and third party independent professional consultants not affiliated with Nestlé Waters... (read letter)
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March 6, 2009
Hi Bruce
I am both a business owner and parent of high school children in Chaffee County. As a part of this community, I volunteer for various beneficial groups and my current effort is to help organize an after prom event for our highschoolers. In case you are not familiar with what this is, I would like to give you a brief explanation. We organize a group of activities in a building to basically keep the kids out of harms way after the prom is over. They arrive after the prom is over at 11:30 PM and stay until 6 AM.
Now for the reason I am contacting you - if you haven't already guessed... We were wondering if Nestle would be interested in sponsoring and event like this. Our intention is to line up a couple of "performers" that draw and keep the kids there. One of these performers is a hypnotist. His fees for a little over an hour are $1,500. Many parents donate their time, money, lodging and bring food for the kids but if Nestle is also willing donate, it would help us a great deal. We also thought this might be something you would be interested in sponsoring as a contribution to our community.
Asking for monetary contributions is not one of my favorite things to do, but I appreciate your consideration. You can either call or e-mail me with your response. Also feel free to call me if you would like more information. Thank you, ---CB
Dear CB,
Thank you for your recent inquiry about Nestlé Waters contributing to the Buena Vista High School "After Prom" event. We value volunteers such as yourself who donate time and attention to students' health and safety, and welcome the opportunity to participate in this event.
Nestlé Waters would like to donate 20 cases of water, and $500 cash to help support BVHS's After Prom entertainment. Apex Development will coordinate with you on the details. Please call them directly at 395.3626.
We look forward to other ways that we can be an active community member.
Regards, Bruce
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February 20, 2009
New Dates for Nestlé Waters North America Chaffee County Public Hearings Set
March 3 at 1 p.m.: Salida Steam Plant. Chaffee County Planning Commission hearing to consider Nestlé’s application for development of spring water source, associated transmission pipeline and loading facility.
March 4 at 1 p.m.: Meeting at Fisherman’s Bridge. Chaffee County Board of Commissioners Nestlé project site visit.
March 18 at 1 p.m.: Salida SteamPlant. BOCC special public hearing on Nestlé project.
In addition to the county board of commissioners, the project will be reviewed by a number of other agencies including, but not limited to, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado State Engineers Office, and US Army Corps of Engineers.
Chaffee County has made the full applications and supporting documents available at the County Website: www.chaffeecounty.org
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February 17, 2009
Nestlé Waters is committed to working with local contractors whenever possible. Listed below are components of our Chaffee County project that will be available for local bidding. Interested parties should submit a statement of qualifications (SOQ) to Apex Development Services (Box 3063, Buena Vista, CO 81211) and should include prior related work experience including contract amount, equipment list, existing insurance coverage, current number of employees, a statement regarding ability to mobilize within 10 work days from notice to proceed, current contractor’s license in the State of Colorado and Chaffee County, number of years licensed in the State of Colorado, and number of years worked in Chaffee County. Requests for proposals will be sent out to qualified companies in late February and contracts will be awarded in Spring 2009, upon approval of all permits.
Project Components:
Approximately 26,000 feet of 8" HDPE pipeline: Includes excavation, pipe installation, pipe bedding, backfill, and revegetation.
Construction of (2) approximately 200 sft well-house buildings consisting of masonry block construction with standing seam metal roof.
Construction of (1) approximately 1,800 sft truck loading building consisting of masonry block construction and standing seam metal roof. Also includes, concrete water-storage-tank pad, concrete and bituminous driveway, site utilities, fencing, gates, and existing building demolition.
Electrical installation for building and equipment.
Process-piping installation within truck loading building and well-houses. Bidders should have significant experience in welding of stainless steel piping for the food and beverage industry.
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February 9, 2009
Cancellation and Rescheduling of Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners Special Meetings and Public Hearings regarding Nestlé Waters Chaffee County Project:
Chaffee County and the applicant, Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), have agreed to postpone the scheduled public hearings for NWNA’s 1041 and Special Land Use applications in order to allow adequate time for receipt, review, and response to independent consultant and review agency comments. Chaffee County is noticing cancellation of the special Planning Commission meeting and Public Hearing scheduled for February 11, 2009 (to have been held at the Salida Steam Plant) and the Board of Commissioners work session scheduled for February 20, 2009 (to have been held at the Buena Vista Community Center/Pinon Room) and the special Board of Commissioners meeting and Public Hearing scheduled for February 26, 2009 (to have been held at the Salida Steam Plant).
The Planning Commission Public Hearing will be rescheduled for the first week in March with specific date, time and location to be determined.
The Board of Commissioners special work session and Public Hearing will be rescheduled with specific dates, times and locations to be determined.
The rescheduled meetings will be re-noticed in accordance with Chaffee County’s public hearing notice requirements. Please contact Chaffee at 719-539-2218 with
any questions.
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January 15, 2009
Dear Bruce,
I want to thank you for presenting your Chaffee County Spring Water Project to the local Collegiate Peaks Anglers Chapter of Trout Unlimited last night. As all of our meetings are open to the public, I was glad to see a good turnout from the Buena Vista public. You presented the facts very well and therefore, I did not hear any true opposition to your project. I think one of the biggest pluses is the restoration of the site. I detected some reservation on your part to allow fishing access. Is that for security or liability reasons? Trout Unlimited has worked with many land owners in the area to provide parking, egress and regress to the river and markers along the river that restrict access to no more than say 20 feet from the river's edge.
I am sure we would be glad to work with you once your project is in place. As you might have heard last night this chapter provides a lot of volunteer hours toward projects like I have just described. We have solicited donations of equipment and materials and written grants to fund quality projects. I would be glad to show you some of our fishing lease projects in the area.
Please give this type of cooperative project some thought as you firm up your project. I wish you success with your project and early approval. Best Regards, ---BB
Dear BB,
Thanks for your kind words. It may well be that we can work with TU and/or the DOW to provide fishing access to the project site in the future, but it is just too early in the process to commit to that now. You are correct, my concerns at this time would be security and liability, along with the protection of the wetlands and riparian habitat we plan on restoring--I view the restoration project as a refuge for fauna and flora within the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area.
I am sure the restoration project could benefit with the input of Trout Unlimited and would look forward to touring some of your projects locally. I'll call you to arrange. In the mean time I am touring the site this Tuesday Jan 20th @ 9AM with a couple of other local geologists-would you be interested in joining us? Please advise.
Thanks, Bruce
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Dear Bruce,
I was wondering what Job opportunities this might create here in the Area, as we who live here know the Jobs are very hard. ---VP
Dear VP
The primary benefits of our proposed project to Chaffee County residents are the protection of open space and natural resources, the complete restoration of the existing hatchery to its natural environment, Nestlé sponsorship of area programs and annual tax revenue to Chaffee County.
If approved, project construction will generate local jobs for several months with an estimated payroll of $1.9 million. The completed facilities will be unmanned so any other potential job opportunities exist with the maintenance (plumbing/electrical/snow-plowing) of the load station facility and possibly some truck drivers.
I appreciate your interest and hope that I have answered your question.
Regards, Bruce
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Dear Bruce,
Has the late January meeting been scheduled yet? What does the time frame look like for public comment in the commissioners meetings? Thank you, ---JH
Dear JH,
Thank you for your interest in our project. As posted on the Chaffee County website, the current timeline for permitting is as follows:
Work Session #1 - Thursday, January 22, 2009 to be held at the Salida Steam Plant, 220 W. Sackett, Salida in the main theater beginning at 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Work Session #2 - Thursday, February 5, 2009 to be held at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds, 10165 County Road 120, Salida beginning at 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Special Meeting and Public Hearing - Wednesday, February 11, to be held at the Salida Steam Plant, 220 W. Sackett, Salida beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the main theater.
In order to compile a complete public record, the County has indicated that no public comment will be taken at the work sessions, but will be taken at the Planning Commission hearing on February 11, 2009. The matter will also be heard by the Chaffee County Commissioners at work sessions and special meetings held on dates to be determined. There will also be an opportunity for further public comment at the County Commissioners special meeting.
We look forward to the public process. Please contact me directly should you have further questions at this time or would like to schedule a tour of the site.
Regards, Bruce
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January 5 and 9, 2009
League of Women Voters co-hosted showings of the film “FLOW: For Love of Water”, followed by a Nestlé Waters’ video response.
Bruce's response to FLOW :
This film increases attention to the importance of protecting water quality and using water sustainably; that's a good thing. It also raises the issue that everyone does not enjoy access to a safe, reliable, and affordable supply of drinking water. Bringing these issues to the public is important, since improving these issues will involve work by national and local governments and development organizations, with innovation and assistance from the private sector.
Bottled water didn't cause the environmental risks to public water described in this film, and if it disappeared tomorrow, none of those risks would be lessened. In fact, people would lose an important option in situations where they don't have access to reliable drinking water for the reasons identified in the film. Additionally, Nestle Waters does not privatize water intended or used for public supplies, nor does it assume waterservice responsibility for any community.
The film’s segment on Nestle Waters in Michigan is outdated and does not accurately represent the facts. To learn some facts about bottled water, and about us that you don't see in this film, please Click Here.
NWNA’s Chaffee County spring water project has relied on extensive scientific study to determine the sustainable rate at which water may be withdrawn so as to not impact local groundwater levels, neighboring wells, the springs or the Arkansas River, and the surrounding environment. As part of its permit to operate, NWNA will augment all of its spring water withdrawals according to Colorado law, and will continue to monitor the springs and local environment to ensure that any impacts remain negligible, even during drought.
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January 03, 2009
Hi Bruce,
Have you measured water temperature in any of your monitoring activities at either of the springs? If so, are those temperature measurements available to the public. I am a geologist in Chaffee County, and have been compiling information on aquifer temperatures in wells from a number of sources. I have found no data for the area of your project, and would be delighted if some temperature data were available.
Thanks for your help. ---RS
Dear RS,
Yes we do monitor and catalog water temperature in springs and test wells as part of our Long-term Monitoring (LTM) at the site, and are happy to share our data with you, although it may still be considered provisional.
The data I have seen indicates water temperature in wells to be very stable at around 10 degrees Celsius. The measurements at the springs are not as consistent, due I believe to influence of ambient air temperature on those instruments. But I'll defer to our LTM manager Steve Howe.
We appreciate very much your interest in our project. I would be pleased to give you a tour of the site sometime--I am in Chaffee several days each month--just let me know. Steve: Please respond directly to Mr. Smith and provide him our temperature data and your opinion/explanation of the results - thanks.
Regards, Bruce
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January 02, 2009
Dear Bruce,
When will the Project Overview site be up? When you click on it, the server says it cannot be found. Thanks. ---RN
Dear RN
I'm sorry to hear that; our webmaster suggests you may need to refresh your cache. If you are using Internet Explorer, please use the following path from your browser to do so:
MENU / TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS / GENERAL TAB / BROWSER HISTORY / DELETE
If you are still having trouble just let me know and I will arrange for a copy of the Project Overview to be emailed to you.
Thanks for your interest, Bruce
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December 16, 2008
The Nestlé Waters applications were initially discussed by the Chaffee County Board of Commissioners (BOC). County staff presented a brief overview of the Project, along with their recommendation that the 1041 application is “administratively complete”. This designation enables the County to move forward with hiring independent expert consultants (at Nestlé Waters expense) to review the information and supporting data submitted with the application.
The BOC voted unanimously to accept Staff’s recommendation that the application is administratively complete. Additionally, they established an estimated deposit amount of $33,100 for Nestlé Waters to pay to the County for consulting and staff expenses related to application review, and agreed to hold a joint work session of the BOC and Planning and Zoning Commission to hear a comprehensive overview of the Project.
We look forward to this joint meeting, which we anticipate will be scheduled in the latter part of January of 2009, as it will be the first formal presentation Nestlé Waters makes to Chaffee County. The County will subsequently schedule and notice meetings to take Public comment.
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November 3, 2008
Our applications for a 1041 and Special Land Use Permits were submitted to Chaffee County. We look forward to the public process which we anticipate beginning in December of 2008.
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August 8, 2008
Over the last 18 months, more than 75 community stakeholders have accepted our invitation to tour the site, learn more about the Project, and give their input as the Project took form. Additionally, we were invited by, and met with a number of local civic organizations, and look forward to additional group sessions in upcoming months.