Nestle Cannot Claim Bottled Water Is 'Essential Public Service,' Court Rules
Michigan's second-highest court has dealt a legal blow to Nestle's Ice Mountain water brand, ruling that the company's commercial water-bottling operation is "not an essential public service" or a public water supply. The court of appeals ruling is a victory for Osceola township, a small mid-Michigan town that blocked Nestle from building a pumping station that doesn't comply with its zoning laws. But the case could also throw a wrench in Nestle's attempts to privatize water around the country.
The Osceola case stems from Nestle's attempt to increase the amount of water it pulls from a controversial wellhead in nearby Evart from about 250 gallons per minute to 400 gallons per minute. It needs to build the pump in a children's campground in Osceola township to transport the increased load via a pipe system. The township in 2017 rejected the plans based on its zoning laws, and Nestle subsequently sued. A lower court wrote in late 2017 that water was essential for life and bottling water was an "essential public service" that met a demand, which trumped Osceola township's zoning laws. However, a three-judge panel in the appellate court reversed the decision.
Michigan's second-highest court has dealt a legal blow to Nestle's Ice Mountain water brand, ruling that the company's commercial water-bottling operation is "not an essential public service" or a public water supply. The court of appeals ruling is a victory for Osceola township, a small mid-Michigan town that blocked Nestle from building a pumping station that doesn't comply with its zoning laws. But the case could also throw a wrench in Nestle's attempts to privatize water around the country.
The Osceola case stems from Nestle's attempt to increase the amount of water it pulls from a controversial wellhead in nearby Evart from about 250 gallons per minute to 400 gallons per minute. It needs to build the pump in a children's campground in Osceola township to transport the increased load via a pipe system. The township in 2017 rejected the plans based on its zoning laws, and Nestle subsequently sued. A lower court wrote in late 2017 that water was essential for life and bottling water was an "essential public service" that met a demand, which trumped Osceola township's zoning laws. However, a three-judge panel in the appellate court reversed the decision.
