More controversy pours out of Crystal Geyser

Opponents of Crystal Geyser left Monday's Orland City Council meeting in anger after the council approved a water monitoring agreement with the sparkling water company, but did not reveal how much water would be pumped.

The Calistoga-based company gained council approval last month to build a sparkling mineral water bottling plant on Road 200.

As part of that permit, the company is limited to pumping a maximum of 160 acre feet of water a year from a well on the property.

City attorney Tom Andrews drafted the water monitoring agreement in conjunction with a lawyer representing the company.

It calls for an independent consultant to monitor the plant's pumping on a quarterly basis and then provide the city with a yearly figure and report.

If that number exceeds the 160 acre feet per year, the city can shut the plant down and possibly fine the firm for noncompliance, city officials said.

But members of the opposition group Save Our Water Resources are upset because the agreement does not reveal the actual amount of water to be pumped.

Crystal Geyser officials said they do not want the figure made public because that could provide trade secrets to their competitors, who could make assumptions based on the data.

Andrews said government codes allow for that data to be confidential because it is a private company rather than a public agency, and its quarterly production volumes would be considered trade secrets.

He added opponents could go to court on the matter, but the government codes supported his position.

"We imposed this requirement to make sure there are no adverse impacts on the city," Andrews said.

Monitoring would start from the first day the plant begins production.

Another area of contention was a clause relating to arbitration.

The agreement calls for arbitration of disputes, and critics expressed concern the arbitrators might have ties to Crystal Geyser.

Andrews said that would be a conflict of interest and against the law if an arbitrator did not recuse himself from the negotiations if he had prior contact with company representatives.

He also stated the city is not in a position to do a lawsuit against a multi-million dollar company, which is why arbitration is a better choice.

Again, SOWR members complained the company is too big for the city to fight which has been one of their arguments.

City Manager Paul Poczobut Jr. and Councilman Reggie Olney indicated they would call on the company to close if it exceeded its annual water allotment.

"I'd be happy to do that," Poczobut said.

Orland area resident Judy Noffsinger asked the monitoring company not have any ties with Crystal Geyser, and Andrews said it would be another conflict of interest if its associates were involved.

Still, opponents remained skeptical the city would make the company comply since it has not kept up with complaints on other businesses or nuisances, they said.