The lawsuit brought by Nestle against Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's recent decision to require the company to limit shipments of bottled water from its Evart, MI project to the Great Lakes Basin has a dark underside not noted by all media.
The lawsuit, assigned to U.S. Chief District Judge Robert Holmes Bell, also seeks to have a federal water law declared unconstitutional.
The Water Resources Development Act says water from the Great Lakes or tributaries can move outside the region only with the blessing of Great Lakes' governors.
The 1986 law is a "naked ... delegation of federal legislative authority" to governors, Nestle's lawsuit said.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1119089910314080.xml
And this contention is a naked display of Nestle's indifference to the fate of the Great Lakes and exposes the hollowness of its claims to the contrary. The 1986 law gives the governors of all eight Great Lakes states the power to stop new or increased water diversions. Leaving aside the legal issues -- doesn't Congress have the authority to delegate its commerce clause power to states when it chooses? -- Nestle's attempt to undo this law through the courts shows its thirst for profit exceeds its stewardship.
Posted by Dave at June 20, 2005 04:36 PM