Local brewer worries pipeline could impact local water
SALEM, Va. (WSET) -- Parkway Brewing, the largest locally owned brewery in all of Southwest Virginia, is worried about how the Mountain Valley Pipeline could affect their business.
Brewmaster Mike Pensinger is worried that the Mountain Valley Pipeline could leak into the water supply, which could change the taste of all of their beers.
According to Pensinger, beer is 95 percent water.
Currently, the state water board is studying the impact of the pipeline on water.
Delegate Sam Rasoul and Delegate Elect Chris Hurst are asking the state to deny the pipeline or hold off on a decision until more tests are done.
The Roanoke Regional Chamber has come out in support of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and says that it shouldn't be an issue.
"The concern is that it just has to be done properly. That's really incumbent on the company as well as the environmental agencies that are involved in this process," said Joyce Waugh, president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Pensinger said he won't let his beer be subpar, but making sure the water is the same as it is now could be pricey.
"We try to make our beer approachable for everybody cost wise, but we're a business. We have to make sure we're going to make money. We have a set of investors that want to make money from that business so, and I have employees to pay and so on. If I don't make a profit then I can't do that," Pensinger said.
Pensinger is hopeful that the water board will say no to the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"I'm a very optimistic person, so I like to think that somebody will wake up one morning and think-wait we're doing the wrong thing," said Pensinger.
The water quality commission will be meeting later this week to determine if the pipeline will have an impact on the local water.
