WASHINGTON — First, the National Park Service said it would cut back on selling bottled water to visitors — to reduce litter left behind.
Now Congress, under pressure from the powerful bottled water industry, is threatening to cut off the federal money the Park Service is using to replace the disposable plastic water bottles with refilling stations.
But even if that happens, the Park Service this week said it’ll keep encouraging the parks to halt their bottled water sales, even with an edict from Congress. Park officials say they have such strong support for these bans that they would go it alone with help from friends and allies: the nonprofit groups that donate to park projects and the companies that have been selling the bottled water in the first place.
“We believe there are plenty of workarounds,” said Shawn Norton, the Park Service’s branch chief for sustainable operations and climate change. “We believe our friends groups and our concessionaires will step up if needed to fill this need.”
