(The Center Square) — Maine is home to Poland Spring and other iconic bottled water companies, but state lawmakers are weighing a new plan that would tighten restrictions on drawing water from the state’s aquifer.
The proposal, considered by the Legislature’s Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, would cap the length of contracts companies like Poland Spring could enter into for large-scale water extractions.
The bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Maggie O’Neil, D-Saco, said the restrictions would improve accountability and transparency in water management and give communities more of a say in the process of water extraction.
“Currently, there are no guardrails in place around the length of these contracts,” she said in testimony. “That means communities can be locked into decades-long agreements with little-to-no recourse in the face of changing conditions.”
O’Neil cited a 45-year contract agreement between Poland Spring and surrounding communities that was signed about a decade ago with automatic renewals.
“In the face of a changing climate, unpredictable weather patterns, and more frequent droughts, it is impossible to say with any confidence that the terms of a water extraction agreement made today will be acceptable decades in the future,” she said.
But the move faces opposition from the state’s largest bottled water company — which has rebuffed previous legislative efforts to restrict its contract — as well as regional water managers, who say it would take away local control of natural resources.
In a statement to news outlets, Poland Spring said it opposes the proposal but “will continue to engage in the legislative process in good faith and to be a resource to the [Energy, Utilities and Technology] committee on this complex matter.”
“Limiting contract terms eliminates benefits to ratepayers and makes it impractical for Poland Spring to plan operations and invest in the future,” the company said.
The Maine Rural Water Association also opposes the legislation, calling it a “shortsighted” proposal that specifically targets Poland Spring but would “handcuff” local water managers.
“Most predictions of the coming years include increased large-scale rain events in Maine,” Bradley Sawyer, the association’s deputy director, said in testimony. “Regardless of narrative, Maine has abundant water, and the bottling industry is not sucking the state dry.”
