The Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County’s Indian Township has a proposal to get its people back to work ”“ and hopefully bring back some of those who have left the reservation for jobs elsewhere.
On its face, this plan sounds like a good one for the tribe and region. The tribe plans to bottle spring water at a yet-to-be-built, 123,000-square-foot bottling plant, to be sold to customers outside of the tribal land. Tribe leaders are working with an investor and hope to complete a deal early next year to make “Passamaquoddy Blue” water a reality. Plans have been in the works for several years, and there appears to be support among the 1,300 tribal members, according to an Associated Press story published last week.
The ancestral land where the water would come from remains undeveloped, and tribe leaders say they plan to keep it that way. To minimize damage to the land and maintain its natural beauty, the plant would be “tucked away,” and trucks would use U.S. Route 1, which abuts the proposed plant site, according to the AP.
Maine is water rich, and no major drought issues are foreseen in the near future, which is one of the reasons why companies like Poland Spring have had such great success here.
The tribe doesn’t plan to compete with Poland Spring, the nation’s third-largest bottled water brand, but envisions creating 70 good-paying jobs at its plant, which will bring in revenue to fund tribal schools, public safety, health care and an assisted-living center at Indian Township, said Chief Joseph Socobasin, in an interview with the AP.
The plant would produce about 20 million cases of water a year, although there’s enough water for more than 200 million cases to be produced, according to Bill Turner, a hydrologist and water source expert, who is working as a consultant with the tribe.
Job creation is the major driver of this project, as the tribe has a staggering 60 percent unemployment rate.
Chief Socobasin said many members have left the reservation, including from his own family, because there are no jobs available there. In addition to the jobs at the plant, Socobasin pointed out that even more jobs could be created through spin-off businesses, like a trucking company for hauling water.
Since the tribe seems to be doing its due diligence and keeping the land and its water quality in mind, this plan may be a great business venture for the tribe due to the popularity of bottled water and abundance of water in the area. Turner said rainwater and melting snow could provide more than 700 million gallons of water from multiple wells ”“ without tapping the aquifer.
Going forward, we hope the tribe keeps the land and its water’s preservation a top priority as well as setting up a budget and plans to direct the new revenues toward education, public safety, health care and infrastructure for the future.
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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham Rousseau on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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