The York County Green Independent Committee is appalled at the revelation of Poland Spring proposing to double the amount of water it takes from a well in Hollis. We stand with our neighbors in this York County town who are opposed to this proposal.

Poland Spring denies that the current drought will impact the ability to extract this valuable resource, which belongs to the people of Hollis, not to a corporation whose existence is to maximize profit. Future droughts may have unexpected consequences.

Poland Spring has provided data to justify this increased extraction. We question this data as it comes from the corporation’s own studies. There is a promise for the corporation to monitor nearby domestic wells and increase the monitoring of streams and tributaries for signs of groundwater depletion. Besides monitoring, there must be a cease-and-desist provision when such depletion is observed. For transparency to the citizens of Hollis, this monitoring needs to have specific scheduling, with the results published.

There will be a public hearing Sept. 14 with the Hollis Planning Board to discuss this outrageous proposal to take a resource that is part of the commons from the citizens of Hollis for corporate gain. The proposal has met significant local opposition. The York County Greens stand with our Hollis neighbors in opposing this doubling of public water extraction. We also encourage our neighbors in other towns to review their water extraction ordinances to protect our valuable resources and keep them in the hands of citizens.

Gilbert Harris
secretary, York County Green Independent Committee
Limerick

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