April 7, 2021
I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), food scientist, and author of Introductory Foods 15th ed. living in California near the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) where we have had horrific wildfires. As a citizen, I am involved in continued water/permit concerns with Arrowhead Water bottling (Nestle/Blue Triton) from the SBNF Strawberry Creek headwaters. I appreciate the opportunity to comment.
Water is the limiting resource in climate change so it must be a priority in tackling climate change. Most businesses have an impact on and use some water no matter if the impact or use is direct or indirect large or small, fresh or salt water, supply or discharged wastewater. Groundwater and surface water stresses are directly impacted by climate change. Our oceans are also being impacted by climate change. Water must be central in climate change policies, decisions and actions. A conceptual and comprehensive approach in all climate change decisions must include water without water there is no food or forest. Water is a human right and essential for life, food, forest, and national security. Every disclosure should specifically require information about water, sources, amount, ecosystem impacts, TES involvement, how water is used, how much is discharged and how and many other items.
The SEC should work with other agencies to protect our environmental resources, ecosystems and Threatened Endangered Species (TES) (CFR-Title 40 6.202/ Title 50 402). The USDA, EPA, USGS and NOAAs resources and research on water-climate change should be utilized and can perhaps aid in disclosure accuracy checks. Enforcement and accountability iare essential for all climate change disclosures. CEOs should be held accountability for final disclosure reports.
All private companies, LLCs, ADRs and other operations should be held accountable for climate change disclosures. I have worked as a citizen activist involved in questioning the water take by Nestle Waters of North America, Inc. recently sold to One Rock Capital Partners LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos operating under Blue Triton Brands. This Nestle water take involved taking billions of gallons of groundwater they called spring water from sensitive locations coast to coast including Canada and drought stricken California including our San Bernardino National Forest. The Nestle situation was especially frustrating as they were a foreign cooperation traded in Switzerland with few disclosure requirements on their operations. Even more frustrating is that they were taking billions of gallons of groundwater despite drought, climate change concerns even from our drought stricken National Forest during catastrophic wildfires. How does the government disclose climate change related information from these types of operations? How will Blue Triton Brands operate? ( Still public confusion if this operation is a LLC or Incorporated based on lack of filings at this time.) How will private equity firms be held accountable? How can an operation like Nestle/Blue Triton be forced to disclose information? One of the brands is Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water which filed groundwater recordation with a local agency. The water rights are under investigation by the state of California and initial report of investigation limited the water take to 27 aca feet a year from Strawberry Canyon in the San Bernardino National Forest, however since that 2017 ruling Nestle refused to comply. How would something like this be disclosed? Would water amounts be expressed in gallons or acre feet? Water sources contracts and permits may need to be linked into the disclosure as well as Nestles water bottling operation owned few if any water rights and water is regulated at the state level.
The food and agriculture industry uses a great deal of water, but this is different water use than taking water and transporting to a different location for bottling or salt water extraction from oil wells that is reinjected into the ground. Often times, agriculture data is misinterpreted or misstated for political gains. We need food ample water use is essential for growing, cleaning, processing or other needs so this number is not comparable to something other industry. Working with other federal agencies is important to get disclosure requirements correct so reporting does not look distorted and the SEC is collecting appropriate information. Do different industries need different disclosure requirements or guidelines?
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.