Click the link to read the article on The Los Angeles Times website (Ian James). Here’s an excerpt:
August 7, 2024
In a decision that could end a years-long battle over commercial extraction of water from public lands, the U.S. Forest Service has ordered the company that sells Arrowhead bottled water to shut down a pipeline and other infrastructure it uses to collect and transport water from springs in the San Bernardino Mountains. The Forest Service notified BlueTriton Brands in a letter last month, saying its application for a new permit has been denied. District Ranger Michael Nobles wrote in the July 26 letter that the company “must cease operations” in the San Bernardino National Forest and submit a plan for removing all its pipes and equipment from federal land. The company has challenged the denial in court.
Environmental activists praised the decision.
“It’s a huge victory after 10 years,” said Amanda Frye, an activist who has campaigned against the taking of water from the forest. “I’m hoping that we can restore Strawberry Creek, have its springs flowing again, and get the habitat back.”
She and other opponents say BlueTriton’s operation has dramatically reduced creek flow and is causing significant environmental harm. The Forest Service announced the decision one month after a local environmental group, Save Our Forest Assn., filed a lawsuit that alleged agency was illegally allowing the company to continue operating under a permit that had expired.