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AG rejects Concord ban on bottled water

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 9, 2010 09:49 PM

By Christopher Girard, Globe Correspondent

State Attorney General Martha Coakley has rejected a ban on the sale of bottled water in Concord, her office said yesterday.

In April, Concord residents voted to ban bottled drinking water in their town, but after Coakley did not approve the ordinance, bottled water sales will be able to continue after the ban was to begin in January.

The water ban article and its language approved at town meeting “does not constitute a valid bylaw subject to the attorney general’s review and approval,’’ Assistant Attorney General Margaret J. Hurley wrote in a letter to Town Clerk Anita Tekle.

The ruling does not address the lawfulness of the town banning bottled water sales because the ordinance “does not come within the attorney general’s limited review authority,’’ the letter said.

Melissa Karpinsky, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, referred questions on what exactly constitutes a bylaw to the attorney general’s municipal division.

Concord can pass another ordinance on bottled water at a future town meeting and submit it to Coakley for another review, the letter said. There is no town meeting scheduled for the fall, but the Board of Selectmen can decide to hold one, Tekle said.

“People should cut back on their bottled water, but there’s a better way to do it,’’ Paul Mandrioli, owner of West Concord Supermarket, said in an interview. “Putting a deposit on each bottle will stop people from throwing them on the side of the road.’’