The years-long war of words over Oxbow Springs has just grown louder.
Backers and opponents of a proposed Nestlé water bottling plant in the Columbia River Gorge town of Cascade Locks have taken to the airwaves, to the phone lines, and to Salem to plead their case in advance of a May election that could decide the plant's fate.
A Hood River County ballot measure seeks to block the Nestlé plant by banning any water bottling operation that produces 1,000 gallons or more a day. Nestlé expects to package 11 times that amount from Oxbow Springs in an average hour.
"We don't want to set the precedent of being a water-exporting county," said Aurora del Val, campaign director for the Local Water Alliance, which is backing the charter amendment.
Nestlé's supporters, meanwhile, have responded by launching their own political campaign. They registered March 9 with the Oregon Secretary of State as the the pro-Nestle group, Coalition for a Strong Gorge Economy.
"So many of us believe very strongly in the project coming here," said Debora Lorang, a Cascade Locks business owner who formed the group along with the city's mayor, a top port official and other local residents. "The ballot initiative is not good for our town, it's not good for the community or for the state."
Nestlé and a nonprofit group that opposes the company have each released videos in the past week that seek to shape viewers' opinions on the proposed plant. Depending which one you watch, Nestlé comes off looking like a small, struggling town's prospective economic savior or a corporate bully exploiting people and resources for profit.
The first video, posted to Twitter over the weekend, shows Cascade Locks city leaders and residents sharing stories of the town's economic woe and their hopes for the influx of jobs Nestlé could bring.
Nestlé spokesman Dave Palais said the company created the video after learning an anti- Nestlé video was in the works.
Learn what a new factory could mean to the people of Cascade Locks #Together4Water.https://t.co/QAhrM8nPfU
— NestleWatersNA (@NestleWatersNA) March 19, 2016
That video, published online Tuesday, features area residents, a Cascade Locks City Councilor and a tribal fisherwoman expressing concerns about Nestlé's intentions in their town. It's part of a larger effort by the nonprofit Story of Stuff Project to campaign against Nestlé's water bottling efforts across the country.
Nestlé, a Swiss multinational food and beverage corporation, has been trying since 2008 to secure the right to bottle and sell water from a woodland spring just outside Cascade Locks. The company and its supporters tout the plan as a prime economic opportunity for a town with few jobs and an abundance of water. Company and city officials say the $50 million plant would employ as many as 50 people long-term and double Cascade Locks' property tax base once tax abatements expire.
Nestlé's opponents argue the environmental risks of a new plant outweigh the potential economic gain. Some oppose the plastic trash created by bottled water, while others question the merits of shipping Oregon water out-of-state while several years of drought have created water shortages for the state's people and fish.
Opponents of the company won a key victory last fall when Gov. Kate Brown sided with them in a dispute over the company's strategy for gaining access to Oxbow Springs.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which has sole rights to use water from the spring, has agreed to trade some water to the city of Cascade Locks, which would in turn sell it to Nestlé. But the trade can't happen without the Oregon Water Resources Department's approval.
Brown, arguing the state and city's strategy to gain water approval lacked transparency, ordered a different approach.
Within hours, a Nestlé lobbyist had contacted Brown's staff to request a meeting. The company's CEO met with Brown and her top staff in January to discuss her stance on the proposal. Nestlé's natural resources director and the lobbyist joined in the conversation.
"It is our hope that in the meeting we were able to communicate to the Governor our commitment to water stewardship and creating shared value in the communities where we operate," Palais said in a statement shared Tuesday with The Oregonian/Oregonlive.
Nestlé's opponents have also taken their complaints to Salem, visiting with Brown's staff in December and picketing the capitol to demand the governor take a stance on Nestle. They've opened a campaign space in Hood River and raised money from local residents and a national environmental group.
"We are preparing for the onslaught," del Val said. "They have deep pockets, and we're counting our pennies."
The pro-Nestle group has hired prominent political consultant Rebecca Tweed as a strategist.
Tweed said the group was behind phone polls earlier this year that gauged area residents' opinions on Nestle. The next step is door-knocking, phone calling, and possibly some advertising.
While both sides await the election, state water officials are reviewing the applications Nestle needs to access Oxbow's water. That process could take several more years.
--Kelly House
khouse@oregonian.com
503-221-8178
@Kelly_M_House