While water filling stations are becoming commonplace in more and more parks across the National Park System, there are those in Congress who believe the National Park Service's ban on disposable plastic water bottles is unsafe and actually generates more, not less, plastic waste. 

The House of Representatives last week approved an amendment to overturn the ban, but then the bill it was attached to, the House Interior Appropriations bill, was pulled back due to a fight over whether Confederate flags could be displayed at national cemeteries. 

Before the bill was pulled, the International Bottled Water Association sent out a release applauding the amendment's sponsor, Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pennsylvania, and those who supported the amendment that would prohibit the Park Service from using any funds to implement or maintain bans on the sale of bottled water at any national park.

It was back in 2010 when Grand Canyon National Park officials were about to ban disposable water bottles when Park Service Director Jon Jarvis put a hold on the move, supposedly at the request of Coca-Cola (which sells Dasani bottled water). In the end the director reversed course, but not before requiring parks that wanted to ban disposable water bottles to conduct extensive impact studies.

Fast-forward to 2015, and not only are water-dispensing stations becoming more and more available in the National Park System, but the Park Service is working with refillable bottle companies to bring water to visitors.

The Bottled Water Association in its release said the House's move to overturn the ban "is a vote for public health and safety."

"Bans on the sale of bottled water contradict the NPS’s Healthy Parks Healthy People initiative, which promotes more healthy food and beverage choices in national parks, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Drink Up Initiative, which encourages the consumption of all types of water, whether filtered, tap, or bottled," the association's release said.

Furthermore, the association said a study on a bottled water sales ban at the University of Vermont "resulted not only in a significant increase in the consumption of sugary drinks but also an increase, rather than a reduction, in the amount of plastic bottles entering the waste stream."

“We ... know that when bottled water is not available in a vending machine, people choose other less-healthy packaged beverages, which may contain sugar, caffeine, and other additives. They may not have access to a water fountain or filling station while out hiking, camping, or running daily errands,” said Chris Hogan, IBWA vice president of communications.

“These bans, whether in national parks or college campuses, are misguided attempts to deal with a waste management issue that would be better addressed through efforts to improve recycling rates of all packaged drinks,” said Hogan.

The Rothfus amendment would not prohibit parks from continuing to authorize the sale of other beverages or from providing tap water filling stations to promote hydration, the association said.

“IBWA applauds Congressman Rothfus for recognizing access to bottled water as a key component of healthy hydration. We thank Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Representative Renee Ellmers (R-NC) for their leadership and support of this amendment. We now call on the U.S. Senate to include the provision in its Park Service funding bill,” said Hogan.

In contrast to the association's public relations effort was word that students from across the country last week were working to "grow" local support for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Valley Forge National Historial Park, and Acadia National Park to go bottled water free. More than 40 local businesses have signed on in support of the policy in Acadia, according to Corporate Accountability International.

Nationwide, more than 40,000 people have already signed petitions in favor of parks going bottled water free, the organization added. It also pointed out that more than 75 units of the National Park System have adopted bans against disposable water bottles.

At Vapur, Inc., which makes refillable plastic bottles and has worked to see water-filling stations placed around Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, officials expressed concern over the efforts to overturn the ban on disposable water bottles.

"While Vapur would be disappointed should the right of national parks to ban bottled water be halted by the proposed amendment to H.R. 2822 (as we do believe it helps our parks achieve their objective of reducing plastic bottle waste), ultimately we believe the long-term goal of minimizing the impact of plastic bottle waste from bottled water can best be achieved through education and changing consumers' habits on their use of bottled water," said Brent Reinke, co-founder of Vapur. "It was that vision which inspired Vapur to create the Vapur Hydration Program over three years ago which is now starting to be adopted by national parks.

"The Hydration Program was created as both an educational and practical solution to help minimize bottled water use in our parks which leads to the creation of waste. At Bryce Canyon, the Hydration Program provides park visitors with educational information located on Bryce's Natural History Association website, in Bryce Canyon's park newspaper, the Bryce Canyon Trams, and reusable water bottle Point of Sale displays and on Vapur Refill Stations," he added in an email. "The materials emphasize both the importance of staying hydrated by drinking water and the detrimental impact of plastic caused by bottled water containers discarded in our parks."