Rochefort endangered

Well that stinks... It's tough because the political side of me says, well if they don't want them doing pump tests there they should buy up the land and protect it. The beer drinker in me is saying NOOOOOOOOO!

 

Link doesn't work... Elaborate?

 

Not in English, but basic gist seems to be that the brothers are worried that a local quarry expansion will impact water quality used for brewing...

http://m.deredactie.be/#!/snippet/593831a0c447b01813681d82

 

My political take is, you can do what you want with your own property up until the point it harms your neighbors. If pollution is leaving your property and effing with other people's lives and livelihoods, that's crossing a line. Especially if it's messing with the quality of my beer.

 

Thanks for the link. I read that through with Google Translate. I think got most of the important points and I have a some background in these types of issues. Groundwater is a public resource with plenty of history of protection and the monks are right to voice their concern. If you say nothing, it's a lot harder to complain later, possibly after the damage is done. If the monks are getting their water from a limestone-based aquifer (based on presence of limestone quarry), limestone can be notorious for contamination and maintaining quality. However, they are objecting to even initial tests to determine if more quarry pumping could influence their groundwater source. Good real world data is critical to establish policies to protect groundwater resources without undue economic harm. If you don't even allow collection of data then any claim for or against is on shaky ground.*

I also think it's interesting that the limestone quarry owner claims they employ 480 people and is more economically important than the monks beer, which sounds like some typical fuzzy math companies use to inflate their economic importance. Granted I know nothing about this quarry's specific operations, but limestone isn't rare or particularly labor intensive to mine. There are many quarries in the area I live, some quite large, and I am fairly certain none of them employ nearly that many people. The Rochefort monks could probably easily counter this economic argument with their own estimates, with some added value factor for the world-wide fame of their beer that I doubt can be claimed for limestone.


*- Scientifically, at least. A viable strategy in similar situations is to appeal to public opinion/emotions and then science pretty much goes out the window or can be cherry-picked. Being a viable strategy does not make it right though.

 

Limestone can be quarried anywhere there is limestone, Rochefort is unique and in worldwide demand. So which of these businesses has the best chance for long range viability.

 

Just to play devil's advocate, there are different grades of limestone for many construction, industrial, and agricultural applications, and the chemical properties of this mine's limestone could be uniquely valuable. I don't know. ...but Rochefort is unique in it's own way too.

In my opinion, it would be better to gather the data to see if they can both operate safely, before choosing whose operations should limit the other.

 

It would be a big lost. I have not seen Rochefort in GJ.

Cheers!

 

The beer draws thousands to the area every year and is great for the local economy, a lot more then just a quarry and I've been to quite a few quarries in Belgium and I find it hard to image one employing 400 people....

 

That sucks, I always get Rochefort 10 around the holidays and other special times for a treat. It's always been one of my go to beers, and was one of the first non BMC beers that really just blew my balls away.

 

Damn. I guess it makes it easier for the Abbey to get new recruits to join the Monks and take the vow of chastity, but, still...

 

NOT COOL BRO

 

I hope that the Belgians would consider Rochefort to be a national treasure. I mean they've been brewing beer since the 16th century for God's sake. I would expect a strong public outcry for anything that could possibly bring harm to this valuable institution.

 

Good point about visitors to the area because of Rochefort. Perhaps the local authorities should do an accounting survey of that economic impact prior to issuing drilling permits.

 

Wonder if the brewery is tax exempt where the quarry would provide tax revenue?

 

Wonder how much beer those 400 employees drink.