(The Center Square) – Bayfield’s Kristle KLR will no longer be able to bottle water from a well near Lake Superior after the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided to not take up its case.
The company first had its plan to harvest water from an artesian well near Lake Superior denied by the Bayfield County Planning and Zoning Commission in April 2021, when it asked for a conditional use permit for its plan to store water in underground tanks before transporting it to a bottling facility in Superior.
The bottled water was intended to be sold in sold in plastic bottles in the Twin Cities and in areas beyond the Great Lakes Basin.
““It is a good day for the water!” said Jennifer Boulley, board member of Lake Superior Not for Sale. “She is celebrating and we are humbly continuing our responsibility of protecting water now and for future generations. Lake Superior Not For Sale is extremely happy with the outcome, and we will continue to fight any and all water extraction projects that commodify water.”
The plan was contested for three years by the Midwest Environmental Advocates on behalf of Lake Superior Not for Sale. The plan was also opposed by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Kristle KLR appealed the Bayfield planning decision against its proposed water pumping facility in Clover Township and MEA filed briefs asking for Bayfield County to affirm the decision and deny the permit, which it did.
The decision was then appealed in Bayfield County Circuit Court and to the Wisconsin County of Appeals.
“Preventing the commodification and sale of Great Lakes water is critical to safeguarding this valuable resource for current and future generations,” said MEA Attorney Rob Lee.