On April 12th 2016 the Siskiyou County Community Development Department released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for environmental consultant services to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Crystal Geyser's Use Permit to construct a caretaker/security residence on their property. It was this application that ultimately triggered the CEQA process on Crystal Geyser's plant.  Most importantly the RFP states, “…the installation of the caretaker’s unit is directly related to the whole of Crystal Geyser’s bottling facility operations on the property and the entirety of the bottling plant operations is considered the CEQA-defined project.” According to the timeline contained in the RFP, the contract will be awarded sometime in May or June of 2016, with the draft EIR being completed around late October, and the final EIR completed in late January 2017.  

The community of Mt. Shasta will be watching this process closely as Crystal Geyser has shown no transparency or responsiveness to the concerns raised by residents.  The RFP reveals that Crystal Geyser is now considering four different waste treatment plans including building a waste treatment facility onsite and discharging the treated industrial wastewater into the leach field on the property (i.e. into our aquifer!) or trucking the wastewater somewhere offsite. The RFP also incorrectly states that the plant has only a “low density residential development to the east” when in fact the plant is surrounded on all sides by residential units. The RFP released by the County shows again the need for active community comments, critiques and participation in this process.

With blatant examples of the private companies commandeering of the public's water in Weed and McCloud, this scrutiny has never been as important as it is becoming now. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that the public remain informed and engaged. Without the undying vigilance, scrutiny, and legal action of local citizens, Crystal Geyser would have already been operating for more than two years, ignoring the rules, and without oversight.  We only have history to look at for that knowledge: none of the mitigations prescribed for Dannon and Coca Cola were ever implemented or enforced. 

 Coming soon should be a Notice of Preparation from the County announcing the scope of the Crystal Geyser plans, the scheduling of a public meeting and inviting public comments on the issues involved in the EIR. W.A.T.E.R. will be monitoring this process and will update everyone as this develops.

Mount Shasta approves Mitigated Negative Declaration on City treatment plant upgrades 
On May 9th 2016 the Mt. Shasta City Council approved the mitigated negative declaration for the city's upgrade of the waste water treatment plant. W.A.T.E.R. and many others in community had numerous concerns about the links to Crystal Geyser relating to this upgrade and other environmental issues, but the City Council and Enplan (the environmental consultant company) maintained that this project could be considered separately from Crystal Geyser. 

Weed Water Grab in progress
The City of Weed and Roseburg Forest Products are battling over who has rights to water from Beaughan Springs, the main source of water for the city.  Weed has used that water for over 100 years, and now Roseburg is trying to force Weed to find other water sources, claiming they have the rights to the City's share.  A Roseburg representative said they want the water because, "Roseburg is in the business of making money".  This is another example of a private corporation prioritizing its own profits over the needs of the public.

W.A.T.E.R. needs your continued support.  Funds are needed to hire unbiased experts and legal advice to provide credible analysis of reports and data throughout the EIR process so a full picture of the impact of this project can be known.  Please donate today so that this important work can continue.