September 11, 2009
Nestle Waters North America has dropped plans for a bottling plant in McCloud, Project Manager Dave Palais said Thursday.
Nestle has decided to operate a new water-bottling plant in Sacramento instead, he said.
The McCloud plant originally was proposed in 2003 and endured many changes and environmental challenges.
The original proposal was to employ 240 people at build-out and use up to 1,600 acre-feet of water a year from the McCloud Community Services District's springs in the Squaw Creek watershed.
But in 2007, a revised plan shrunk the facility, eliminated 140 jobs and reduced water use to only 600 acre-feet of water a year.
Nestle also was criticized by the McCloud Watershed Council, which formed in reaction to the proposal, based on its environmental impact report. The council said the report didn't address important issues, such as global warming, economic costs to tourism and traffic.
The group also questioned whether other companies would be prevented from moving to McCloud as a result of Nestle's presence.
In July, Nestle announced it planned to build the Sacramento plant and was unsure if it would go forward with the McCloud project.
"We were reviewing both what we anticipate the consumer demand and growth of business will be and how it will be supplied for the Sacramento location and the outcome was that facility will be able to meet our needs," Palais said.
In a letter to the McCloud Community Services District and the McCloud community, CEO Kim Jeffrey wrote the Sacramento plant will bring lower distribution costs and leave a smaller environmental footprint than the proposed McCloud plant.
Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela said he always felt there was a viable project within the proposal, though he didn't always agree with the scope.
"It's unfortunate because now there won't be any project," he said.
Ron Berryman, a forestry consultant and member of the McCloud Grassroots Committee, said the 100 jobs created by the plant would have been valuable in McCloud.
"That's something that isn't going to be made up over night," he said. "That's probably the worse single thing - the loss of jobs."
He said in the future, other companies looking to start a project in McCloud could look at the conflict generated by the Nestle proposal and decide to go elsewhere.
"They'll see the animosity and become hesitant to propose a project in and around McCloud," he said.
The McCloud Watershed Council issued a response to the announcement.
Debra Anderson, president of the council, said the project "started off on the wrong foot," but through the community forums and conversations with the council was able to reach a constructive level of openness.
Anderson said the council understands the decision to withdraw and will try to help find a buyer for the 240-acre mill property in McCloud.
Palais said the property will be appraised and put up for sale in the coming months.
Reporter Amanda Winters can be reached at 225-8372 or awinters@redding.com.
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