A Monroe County judge ruled Thursday that a landowner can intervene to defend an ordinance that would allow water extraction in Eldred Township.

Eldred is the site of an ongoing fight between Nestle Waters NA and Ricky Gower/Gower Estates and the majority of the town's residents.It is a war that is being fought on two fronts. Nestle has applied for a special exception permit to extract up to 200,000 gallons of natural spring water daily from the old sand quarry belonging to Gower on Sandy Hill Path.The application is being heard before the township's zoning hearing board in what appears to be a marathon. Two hearings have already been conducted and Nestle is still conducting direct examination on its first witness. The next hearing is scheduled for April 20.The second front is being fought in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas.Township residents, identified as Deihl et.al have filed an appeal of the zoning ordinance which allows the water extraction in the commercial zone.The suit contends that the ordinance was illegally amended by parties who were aware of Nestle's interest in the property.The suit names the township and its supervisors as defendants. Property owner Gower had filed a petition to intervene in the matter.On Thursday morning Monroe County Judge Arthur Zulick entered an order which resulted from an agreement of the parties. The order will allow the property owner, Ricky Gower, to intervene in the civil case.The township has chosen not to defend against the appeal.Without Gower intervening in the case, the court could take the pleadings as fact and enter an order which would hold for the residents. If the ordinance is ruled by the court to be void, Nestle would essentially be out.Residents' attorney Jim Preston said they were prepared to accept that Gower had standing due to his "entering into the agreement (with Nestle) in reliance on the ordinance."Attorney Paul Cohen, on behalf of the township supervisors, concurred with Preston.The doctrine of vested rights protects property owners from changes in zoning after the issuance of a valid permit reliant on that zoning.Zulick agreed that the argument on vested rights was not appropriate at this time and would be better argued before the zoning hearing board and not the court.Gower's attorney Robert Kidwell said Gower still wanted to pursue his petition to strike the appeal of the ordinance, a separate issue pending before Zulick."Doesn't that go to the heart of the matter?" Zulick said. "It goes to the merits of the case."Zulick ordered that the parties be ready to proceed within 90 days. A date would be set for argument sometime in July or August.Preston said he would be petitioning the court, asking for Kidwell to be removed from the case. Kidwell is a member of the same firm as attorney James Fareri. Fareri is the solicitor for the regional planning body known as CJERP. CJERP and Fareri were both involved in the adoption of the ordinance in question.Zulick suggested that Preston not delay in filing the request.