Proposed Bill will Ban Water Sales in San Francisco

San Francisco may become the first major metropolitan area in the United States to ban the sale of plastic water bottles, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.  Board of Supervisors President David Chui introduced a bill last Tuesday that would eliminate the sale of plastic water bottles on public property, including parks, concerts, large events and mobile food trucks.

Chui believes that the proposal could eliminate the sales of millions of plastic water bottles annually.  According to Business Insider, bottled water production requires 17 million barrels of oil a year and requires triple the amount of water to make a bottle as it does to fill it. 

Under the proposal, city agencies would be required to study how to improve access to water at public events, including installing drinking fountains, bottle filling stations, and potable water hook-ups.  The proposal dictates that by October 2016, no person would be able to sell or distribute bottled water at outdoor events on public property.  

Currently, it is illegal to sell bottled water in 14 national parks and on several college campuses around the country.  In January, Concord, Massachusetts, became the first U.S. municipality to ban the sale of single-use water bottles.  Many environmental groups criticize these bottles as wasteful and environmentally damaging; Ban the Bottle has been running an aggressive public campaign against plastic bottles for years.

The Chanler Group is actively engaged in the review and analysis of incentive-based renewable energy programs to determine potential benefits to our clients.  Global energy consumption continues to increase each year and, with this increase, the demand for safe, clean, and unlimited energy is on the rise.  The Federal and State governments promote this interest through a variety of financially-beneficial incentives.  Our understanding of these laws allows us to guide homeowners, businesses, and/or developers through the various ways to take advantage of these incentive-based benefits.  With the appreciation that renewable energy laws and regulations are constantly changing, The Chanler Group is committed to investing in its understanding and practice of this area of law.