![]() In her testimony, Bartovics argued that it is “premature, if not morally wrong, for the Legislature to create a structure that encourages bottled water before the Commission has completed its recommendations, and with no equivalent requirements for product testing to be considered a viable alternative to locally sourced water.” The commission was charged with developing recommendations to ensure that there is adequate, clean, safe and accessible drinking water for Maine residents and businesses, as well as to weigh in on the positive and negative aspects of a tax on water extraction. Bartovics pointed out that companies like Poland Spring are selling bottled water without first testing for the presence of harmful PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which has been found in groundwater across Maine.Īdditionally, she said, “given our State’s efforts to reduce waste, and address rapid climate change, enabling a reliance on the consumption of single use, plastic water bottles is in stark contrast to our goals of sustainability and reducing plastic pollution.”īartovics also pointed to the findings of the Commission to Study the Role of Water as a Resource in the State of Maine, which were published in December 2022. ![]() Private and wasteful use of water shows how little respect for Indigenous folks and poisoned air, water and soil,” said Sekera.īecky Bartovics, representative with Sierra Club Maine’s Council of Club Leaders also submitted testimony against the bill. It comes down to basic tenets of respect. “As the rise of water bottles increases, the public water fountain system decreases. Nickie Sekera, a resident of Fryeburg and organizer with the group Community Water Justice, a network of front-line communities against water privatization in Maine, argued that an increase in water bottle production would be wasteful and disrespectful to the natural environment and the people who rely on it. 31, members of the Maine Legislature’s Taxation Committee heard testimony from environmental groups and local residents, who oppose the measure on the grounds that bottled water, in contrast to clean tap water, is “an extractive commodity,” as Sweden resident Bruce Taylor put it in his testimony. This bill would add “drinking water” to the sales tax exemption for “grocery staples.”ĭuring a public hearing on Jan. ![]() Additionally, bottled water purchased with food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits is exempt from sales tax, even if not delivered to a residence. ![]() ![]() Introduced by Republican Chad Perkins of Dover-Foxcroft, LD 66 would expand the sales tax exemption for grocery staples, which critics fear would encourage the use of bottled water amid ongoing community efforts to deter the extraction of groundwater by Poland Spring in western Maine.Ĭurrently, there is a sales tax exemption for “residential water,” which includes both residential water service from a water district and bottled water delivered to a residence. In the latest chapter in the conflict over water rights in Maine, a bill has been introduced to prohibit the taxation of bottled water. ![]()
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