NEW YORK TIMES • October 24, 2023
When Maine lawmakers tried to rein in large-scale access to the state’s freshwater this year, the effort initially gained momentum. The state had just emerged from drought. Then a Wall Street-backed giant called BlueTriton stepped in. BlueTriton owns many of the nation’s biggest brands, including Poland Spring, which is named after a natural spring in Maine that is no longer commercially viable. Maine’s bill threatened BlueTriton’s access to the groundwater it bottles and sells. The legislation had already gotten a majority vote on the committee and was headed toward the full Legislature, when a lobbyist for BlueTriton proposed an amendment that would gut the entire bill. After learning about BlueTriton’s proposed 45-year contract at its Lincoln facility, a neighbor led calls for a public hearing, arguing that deals were being cut behind closed doors and that Poland Spring would be paying too little for millions of gallons of water. The hearing she sought is now scheduled for next month.