Nearly one year after state regulators barred the company that owns Arrowhead Water to use some Southern California springs, the federal government is backing up that decision.
Last month the U.S. Forest Service ordered BlueTriton Brands – the owner of Arrowhead Water – to cease operations in the San Bernardino National Forest and to submit a plan to remove its pipes and equipment from federal land.
The backstory: Issues surrounding Arrowhead Water started in 2015, when the Desert Sun revealed that Nestle, the former owner of the bottled water company, was taking water from the San Bernardino National Forest while using a permit that had expired in 1998.
- While the U.S. Forest Service granted a new permit to Nestle for up to five years, public outcry over the water extraction led to a state investigation into Nestle’s water rights claims.
- California regulators ultimately ordered BlueTriton Brands to stop taking water from pipes and boreholes at 10 sites.
The big picture: The Forest Service denied the application from BlueTriton Brands for a new permit to extract water.
- In response, BlueTriton Brands filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, arguing that the government has acted arbitrarily and capriciously and did not engage in reasoned decisionmaking.
- BlueTriton Brands also argues that all federal legislation relating to the national forests recognizes that water rights are governed by state law, meaning it’s not the federal government’s decision to make.
What we’re watching: BlueTriton Brands is currently undergoing a lawsuit with the state over the decision last year to ban the use of some of the springs in the San Bernardino mountains.
- The Forest Service ordered the company to stop using its pipeline within seven days, to remove the locks on its equipment and to submit a plan within three months to remove all equipment and infrastructure.
- BlueTriton Brands told the LA Times that the Forest Service has agreed to a 30-day stay to supply the needs of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which owns the Arrowhead Springs hotel property.
What they’re saying: “This denial has no legal merit, is unsupported by the facts, and negatively impacts the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians,” the BlueTriton Brands told the LA Times.
- The company also said the tribe relies on the water for firefighting needs.
