May 22, 2013

Niagara Bottling

Controversial Bottling Plant Approved for Lake County

Cynthia Barnett | 9/25/2009

The St. Johns River Water Management District this morning approved a five-year water-use permit for Niagara Bottling in Lake County. The controversial permit created enormous public outcry, generating more than 1,000 letters and emails to the district because Lake County is so water-stressed — with its namesake lakes drying up in the recent drought.

Local officials maintain they didn’t want the plant, but Niagara operations director Brian Hess says he was courted for two years by state and local economic development officials before the company decided to move to Florida. Enterprise Florida and the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission courted the company without local officials’ knowledge in a debacle that made the area re-examine its criteria for new industry.

The permit allows Niagara to use up to 484,000 gallons of groundwater a day to manufacture plastic water bottles and pump groundwater for processing into drinking water via reverse-osmosis at its facility northwest of Groveland. The St. Johns district okayed the permit following the recommendation of a Florida administrative law judge last month.

Read Trend’s previous coverage of the story

Tags: Politics & Law, Northeast, Environment, Government/Politics & Law

Also on FloridaTrend.com

Most Read Articles

Florida Business News

Gov. Scott signs elections bill to fix long voter lines
Gov. Rick Scott has finished the fix of the flawed election law that relegated Florida to a late-night joke in 2012 by signing an elections cleanup bill passed on the final day of the legislative session.
Are workaholics good for your business?
Workaholics often present a mixed bag for managers, but with the right management, companies can minimize negative effects and highlight the positives that workaholics bring to the workplace.

Sales tax holiday to extend to computers, tablets, e-readers

For the first time, the state is expanding its annual back-to-school sales tax holiday to cover certain electronic products.

Florida Trend Exclusive
Cruise chasm in Key West

Few subjects touch a nerve in Key West quite like cruise ships. The city is heavily debating whether to even study widening the main channel leading to the city's ports.

Banks' billions in robo-signing settlement not yet a done deal

Banks say they have given Florida homeowners $8.6 billion in relief, more than they agreed to as part of a nationwide "robo-signing" settlement -- but they're not off the hook just yet.

Florida Trend Video Pick

Bonecrusher II arrives at Gatorland

Bonecrusher II arrives at Gatorland

Bonecrusher II arrives at Gatorland

Gatorland is adding more than 70 animals -- including a 15-foot American crocodile known as Bonecrusher II -- to the attraction after purchasing the creatures from the recently closed Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs.

Earlier Videos

Ballot Box

Apart from remembering and honoring the men and women who lost their lives in military service, do you have any plans for the extended Memorial Day weekend?