Amid Florida fight, Debbie Wasserman Schultz proposes a tax on bottled spring water

A debate over spring water in Florida has Washington’s attention.

Broward Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Tuesday that she’s filing a bill that would levy a five cents per gallon tax on water that is extracted from springs or groundwater sources.

Wasserman Schultz’s bill, called the Save Our Springs Act, was introduced amid a fight between environmentalists and the family that owns Ginnie Springs, a popular recreational facility with crystal-clear spring water near Gainesville.

The owners of Ginnie Springs want to quadruple the amount of water pumped from the natural springs to a bottling plant owned by Nestlé, a move that Wasserman Schultz says allows a large business to profit from Florida’s natural resources without paying for it. Nestlé says its extraction and bottling operations provide jobs and taxes for local governments.

A hearing on Ginnie Springs’ permit change that could have expanded the amount of water pumped from the springs was scheduled for Tuesday with the Suwannee River Water District, but it was pulled from the agenda.

“For too long, bottling companies have drained Florida’s most precious resource for next to nothing,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “Florida’s aquifers are the lifeblood of our economy and a recreational staple of our communities. They can’t be treated like a corporate giveaway that has infinite supply any longer.”

Wasserman Schultz’s bill would result in a significant cost increase for companies like Nestlé, which extracts millions of gallons of spring water every day for bottled water brands like Zephyrhills. The federal tax revenue from bottled water would be directed to federal public water projects.

Wasserman Schultz’s bill is part of a larger effort by House Democrats to scrutinize bottled water companies. Last week, California Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda and Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib from the House Oversight Committee requested documents and information related to the bottled water industry’s practices, specifically regarding the extraction, bottling and selling of America’s groundwater.

“Nestlé Waters North America and its subsidiaries have financially benefited from low-cost or no-cost permits from communities across the United States as well as the federal government,” Rouda and Tlaib wrote in a statement. “For example, Nestlé customarily pays approximately $200 per facility to extract groundwater from Michigan cities and communities.”

Wassermann Schultz said the tax would strengthen the country’s public drinking water sources and encourage people to drink tap water over expensive bottled water that produces plastic waste.

“The bottled water industry doesn’t want the public to notice the environmental harm being done by their relentless extraction activities,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We need to invest in municipal infrastructure projects, protect our natural resources and stop pouring this precious public commodity into the coffers of corporations. This bill would help do that.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM.