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A case of water bottled by Nestle, which would like to build a plant in Cascade Locks.

(Kelly House/Staff)

By Julia DeGraw and Alex Brown

Curt Melcher, the interim director of Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, is dangerously close to choosing corporate interests over those of the people he serves. When public servants stray from the civil service ethic, the public has both a right and a duty to hold them accountable. In the case of Melcher, it is up to the public, and to his boss, Gov. John Kitzhaber, to keep him on the right side of history when it comes to Nestle's attempted water grab in our prized Columbia River Gorge.

The Switzerland-based multinational corporation has been maneuvering in Oregon for more than five years to gain access to spring water used by ODFW for a fish hatchery. Public outcry has made Nestle's proposal one of the most unpopular ever to land on the desks of ODFW staff. Nevertheless, Melcher and team continue to bleed taxpayer dollars on expensive legal processes to try to make our public water available to a private corporation known for harming rural communities across the United States.

Until recently, the proposal had been for ODFW to exchange its water with Cascade Locks' municipal water, allowing the town to sell the spring water to Nestle. Under this arrangement, both parties would fully retain their water rights -- cold comfort to the 85,000 Oregonians who have submitted comments in opposition to the proposal.

As this opposition mounts, the likelihood that the exchange would pass a required "public interest" review becomes smaller. So Nestle has a new scheme: It wants ODFW to transfer its water rights to Cascade Locks. Doing so would throw out the current water exchange application, and, with it, the public interest review requirement. Thousands of public comments from Oregonians opposing the proposal would be tossed out because a "water rights cross transfer" does not require the Water Resources Department to assess whether the proposal is in the public interest.

It's easy to see how a water transfer benefits Nestle, which stands to make millions of dollars bottling our pristine public water in the gorge. It's harder to understand how a transfer serves ODFW's mission "to protect and enhance Oregon's fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment by present and future generations."

ODFW's top staff has claimed interest in this proposal because former Gov. Ted Kulongoski directed the agency to do it. Now Melcher and his top staff claim Kitzhaber is driving the water-bottling proposal. No public statements or public records substantiate this assertion; in fact, Gov. Kitzhaber has been largely mum on the issue.

It's time for that to change. Gov. Kitzhaber must remind Curt Melcher that his job at ODFW is to serve the public interest. Saying yes to the proposed water rights transfer is a slap in the face to the many thousands of Oregonians who have voiced opposition to the water bottling deal. In addition, Gov. Kitzhaber should require ODFW to listen to the opposition and keep Nestle out of the gorge for good.

Civil service comes from the top: Gov. Kitzhaber and Curt Melcher must remember they work for Oregonians, not Nestle.

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Julia DeGraw is the northwest organizer of Food & Water Watch, and Alex Brown is executive director of Bark, a Portland-based environmental nonprofit.