Reported By Heather Sorentrue
GROVELAND -- The water war between the city of Groveland and the Niagara bottling water company is set to go to court Wednesday, but the debate has been playing out in the public for quite some time now.
Niagara's plans to pump 484,000 gallons of water out of the ground a day have caused a groundswell of debate in Lake County.
However, all the rhetoric will escalate to courtroom arguments in the next chapter of the dispute.
"We’re finally at the end of a long process of depositions and accusations back and forth, and tomorrow (Wednesday), we actually go before the administrative law judge,” said Groveland Mayor Richard Smith.
The city of Groveland argues it is not in the public interest for the St. Johns River Water Management District to grant a permit to Niagara. The city will also take on how the district handles permits.
Throughout the dispute, city leaders have voiced concern that Niagara could cause damage to the environment if they were given the go ahead. It’s a claim Groveland is now backtracking on, with the environmental issue now off the table in the courtroom.
“Niagara, the city, St. Johns have each had their experts deposed and each have brought some strong points. We determined that we did not want to pursue a strongly debatable point but wanted to go after the areas we considered clearly to have more legal merit,” Smith said.
A representative for Niagara calls it a win in the company's favor.
Groveland has spent around $300,000 to stop Niagara from getting a permit. Before Lake County backed out of the legal fight, their total was around $200,000.
While Niagara has not made their legal fees public yet, the company is looking at trying to get those costs back from the city and county if the judge rules in their favor. It's one of several decisions that will be weighed by the judge throughout the hearing including:
- Is Niagara's proposed use of water is reasonable?
- Is Niagara's proposed use of water consistent with public interest?
- Duration of Niagara's permit, whether the company can challenge the proposed 5-year permit.
These are questions Groveland, Niagara, and the St. Johns River Water Management District are all eagerly awaiting answers to.
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. in downtown Orlando.
It is expected to last through the end of the week and into the first half of next week, with dozens of witnesses potentially testifying, including Lake County's elected leaders.
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