Tiger Bay Club Nestle Waters Debate

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Tiger Bay’s Crossfire: Nestle Waters Interest in the Wacissa River featuring Kent Koptiuch, Natural Resource Manager, Nestle Waters, Inc. and Dr. Andy Opel, Associate Professor & Director for Media Program Production, FSU.
at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center.

Economic Development and job creator/sustainer versus potential risks for a treasured environmental
gem? Great stewards of the environment or corporate revenue opportunities? Valuable corporate community
member or corporate revenue driven? While the issue at hand is only in its preliminary planning and testing
stages, it is already one that is generating significant political and media attention. That issue is the prospective
use of the Wacissa River as a back-up, support water resource for Nestle Waters Bottled Water plant in
Madison, Florida. Commentary on the future environmental and economic implications of the prospective
project for the region, including many in Tallahassee, has ramped up in the last month. Save the Wacissa
Facebook pages and Websites have already populated the Internet while Nestle representatives stress that this
potential project will be studied and tested significantly as to its feasibility and only permitted after a diligent
examination by many state, regional and local agencies as to its environmental impact. Our two featured
presenters, Kent Koptiuch from Nestle Waters and Dr. Andy Opel, an Environmental Communications
Professor at FSU, presented significantly contrasting views of Nestle’s history and experience in recent My
View Editorials carried in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Podcast: Tiger Bay Club Debate: Water Bottling and the Wacissa River  

Wacissa River Water Mining and Bottled Water Handout