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[Ad, end of August] Who IS Running Shapleigh? It's Residents? Nestle Waters North America? (Parent company of Poland Springs Bottling Co.) Nestle Waters NA may have a national office in Connecticut, but the address on its products state they are registered trademarks of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. Nestle is NOT A LOCAL COMPANY! Nestle Waters NA recommended in a letter from Mark Dubois, Natural Resource Manager for Poland Springs, , to Shapleigh's Board of Selectmen, dated June 30, 2008 that it retain a hydrogeologist. Nestle provided the Town with a list "of some names of individuals that some towns or water districts have chosen to hire." On that list was the name of John Tewhey, Kingfield, ME. Shapleigh's Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes of July 29, 2008, states: "Chairman Hayes submitted for information the name of John Tewhey who is one of the hydrogeologists who could provide an independent review to the Town of Shapleigh and/or the Planning Board." INDEPENDENT REVIEW? We report - you decide! Since when do we, the people of Shapleigh, let the fox guard the henhouse? A Moratorium Document containing 106 VALID (many more than needed) signatures was delivered to Shapleigh's Board of Selectmen on July 1, 2008. These 106 signatures took only four days to collect without effort. The Moratorium, when passed by the voters, will stop the issuance of permits for the establishment of activities which involve extraction of, processing of water, or bulk transportation of water through the Town of Shapleigh for 180 days. These 180 days will allow the Town’s Planning Board to develop a comprehensive water extraction ordinance - an ordinance that will protect and strengthen Shapleigh residents’ rights to control their own water - plus - provide the opportunity for the Board of Selectmen to extend that deadline another 180 days which would allow the Ordinance to be presented to voters at Shapleigh’s Annual Town Meeting in March, 2009. Town Officials are elected by Shapleigh's citizens. Shapleigh's Town Officials pledged to serve these citizens! Are there any more questions to be asked? Shapleigh's Selectmen are holding a Public Hearing Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 7 PM, Shapleigh Memorial School. See you there! Protecting Our Water & Wildlife Resources |
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[Ad, Sept 16] A Special Town Meeting is set for Saturday, September 20, 2008 10 AM at Shapleigh Memorial School, Rte 11, Shapleigh. There are nine articles on the warrant, two of which we address here because of their importance to our town’s environment and our quality of life. These two articles of concern are Numbers 7 and 8. Our existing Ordinances are rather weak and vague. They need tightening in order to protect our water and wildlife, as well as our environment. If passed, Article #7 will put a 180-day moratorium on drilling wells, and will give us time to develop meaningful and enforceable town ordinances. If passed, Article #8 will allow Nestle/Poland Springs to start drilling test wells right now. What’s the hurry? It seems the sensible thing to do is approve Article 7 so we have the time we need, and not approve Article 8 which will allow Nestle to drill now. To put it another way, we recommend YES on Article 7, and NO on Article 8. This will give us the time needed to protect ourselves, our future, and our environment. In our opinion there are three weak links should we enter into a contract with any international corporation such as Nestle Waters NA. 1). Our local ordinances, which we are voting on this Saturday, September 20, are currently weak and vague. 2). State laws are also weak and vague. 3). Perhaps the bigger issues could be the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as they may take precedent and supercede local, state, and national law. The United States has signed both Agreements.
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[Mailing done prior to Special Town Meeting.] What’s Tappening?Who is Poland Springs? When New Englanders think of Poland Springs, they often think of Maine." Poland Springs is actually a division of Nestle¢ North America, a subsidiary of the Swiss food and beverage giant. Nestle¢ Poland Springs corporate office is not even located in Maine. As you have probably read and heard on the news, Nestle¢ has a history of using its corporate influence and legal firepower to get what it wants. Will this project bring jobs to our area? The project proposed will not bring any full time jobs to our area, as it is a satellite spring source. It will bring trucks to transport the water to other facilities. The trucks will travel on State & State Aid roads. According to our traffic study from April 2008, the truck traffic will increase four fold in some parts of the town. What are the benefits of having this satellite spring source in Shapleigh? According to the Nestle¢ representatives, the company will purchase the water, pay taxes to the town of Shapleigh & they will be neighborly. Nestle Waters would have you believe that they are generous neighbors. The fact is this generosity has been ordered by court settlements and permit conditions. Estimates of the reduction of the mil rate are in the range of ---------- Is saving a few hundred dollars on your tax bill worth all of the inconveniences of such a large operation? What are the disadvantages? The obvious issues related to this are the increase in tanker truck traffic. The related air & noise pollution will have a permanent effect on the rural character of our town. The less tangible issues are related to water quality & quantity. Is it sustainable? If it is then why do some peoples wells run dry? Whose water is it? Do you want Nestle¢ Poland Springs profiting by shipping our water all over the country and internationally? In March, according to the Nestle¢ waters representatives, the minimum tanker trips per day would be 30 round trips and that number has been recently upgraded to 48 round trips per day (384,000 gal/day). This could be one truck traveling through town every 12-15 minutes 24 hours/day. Is this "What it means to be from Maine"? For Nestle¢ Poland Springs, it's their trademark! How will the town of Shapleigh and its citizen’s be protected? The Planning board has been rushing thru an upgrade on existing zoning regulations. The purpose of the ordinance is to put rules in place to protect Shapleigh and it’s citizens. At the last three public hearings, planning board members have stated that they would like more time to develop this ordinance. The third revision of the ordinance presented on 8-12-08 at the public hearing was so rushed that numerous grammatical and reference errors were found in the document. What is the Value of our water? Water is a natural resource that sustains life, without it, all living things would die. Negotiations with Inland Fisheries & Wildlife died because Nestle wasn't willing to pay the going rate paid at other State owned satellite locations. Apparently, they think Shapleigh residents will agree to receive less money for their water. If the immediate needs are for profit then how does this get accomplished without compromising future generations? The only sure way is to preserve and protect our water. DON'T SELL OUR WELL! Please VOTE ON SEPT. 20th 10am Special Town Meeting @ Shapleigh Memorial School NO on TESTING. The spring is located on State property & has already been tested. Nestle wants to access it from Town owned property. Voting yes for testing on the town owned land might be construed by legal teams as permission, which could open the door for litigation at the Town of Shapleigh site.According to town officials and DEP, no permits have been issued up to this date on State or Town property. YES for the MORATORIUM. This would allow time for the planning board to develop an ordinance that fits the values of Shapleigh residents and would protect all extraction sites in town. NO on the ORDINANCE. The planning board members have said in three public meetings that they would like more time to work on the ordinance. Voting no in combination with the moratorium will give them that time. POWWR - Protecting Our Water & Wildlife Resources |