Authorities say they turned away about 40 protesters who went to a Michigan water bottling plant to try to speak with company officials about a recently approved permit to pump more groundwater.
The Mecosta County Sheriff's Office says it responded Monday to Nestle Waters North America's Ice Mountain plant in Stanwood following a report about 40 people were trying to get inside. Deputies say they agreed to leave.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently ruled Nestle's application to increase water output to 400 gallons (1,514 liters) a minute meets state standards. The company had been permitted to withdraw 250 gallons (946 liters) a minute from an underground aquifer.
The sheriff's office says protesters told deputies they wanted to discuss the permit as well as Flint's crisis with lead-tainted water.
