CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – USA Springs, the water company entangled in a three-year battle with Nottingham activists and state officials, finally has a permit.

After two earlier rejections, the Department of Environmental Services Friday gave USA Springs a 10-year permit to draw 307,528 gallons of water a day from three bedrock springs in Nottingham.

The permit allows for “reasonable, sustainable” use of resources,” said Mike Walls, assistant commissioner of DES. “Potential for adverse impact will be carefully monitored.”

As part of the agreement, USA Springs must pay for water monitoring equipment and services to measure water levels of private wells in Nottingham and neighboring Barrington, as well as its own property. If bottling operations cut into neighbors’ water supplies, USA Springs must provide an alternate source. The company also must pay to remove contaminants from an adjacent site, where tests found traces of pollutants.

State officials said USA Springs latest application addressed 27 technical questions raised by its previous one. The previous application proposed blocking contamination from neighboring land by playing with hydraulic pressure levels. This time, USA Springs decided to just clean it up, officials said.

Despite these measures, activists opposing the bottling business remain unsatisfied. “As a resident, I think DES is selling out New Hampshire and our water supply,” said Denise Hart, a board member of Save Our Groundwater, a group that’s fought USA Springs’ plans from the start. “When there is doubt about the potential adverse environmental impacts, it is better to do nothing.”

But state officials say the permit doesn’t give USA Springs any chance of doing harm.

“We are continually involved in the process, watching, looking at the data, monitoring the site,” said Tony Giunta, a waste management specialist. “The permit specifically requires that they reduce their withdrawal amount even if there is no adverse impact.”

It has not been a smooth ride to victory for USA Springs. Arsonists destroyed a barn on the site in 2002. Besides slogging through two rejections and a few million dollars in fees, USA Springs almost lost its land in March because of an unpaid bill.

“DES has not exactly been the best friend of USA Springs,” said Tony Soltani, a lawyer for USA Springs. “They have put USA Springs though rigorous requirements.”

And it isn’t over yet. Save Our Groundwater has 30 days to appeal. USA Springs must pass a water quality test, as well as secure a state bottling permit, which only will be issued if the company passes a three-month monitoring period of water levels. USA Springs also needs a local permit to build the bottling plant.

Soltani said having a plant onsite will reduce emissions from transport trucks and create jobs. Aside from processing costs, USA Springs pays nothing for the water. If successful, USA Springs would supply a welcome stream of enterprise tax income to the state, he said.