CPAC ARE BEYOND BEING IN BIG TROUBLE

Woolwich Township and Mayor Cowan are so incredibly up the creek without a paddle, a GPS or even a clue as to what they are doing, that it's gone beyond humiliating. Despite all my fact based criticisms of the last version of CPAC, they at least knew how to make CPAC look credible. What they are now is an embarassment. This is unfair to the citizens of Elmira and Woolwich as well as to the two CPAC members who currently want to do their civic duty, honestly and responsibly. CPAC and Woolwich Township are lucky to still have Dan and Vivienne as members but the Mayor and some Council probably don't think so after last Wednesday's first public meeting (see Thurs. June 9/11 Elmira Advocate). Mayor Cowan is so desperate for more members (currently 4 with 1 excellent prospect-Sebastien) that he's even gone back, hat in hand, to the old CPAC. This is a huge mistake for all the reasons he enunciated during and after his election campaign. In a nutshell, they've thrown in the towel on a source removal based cleanup years ago, without having the courage or honesty to inform the public.

Last Monday (June 6/11) here in the Advocate, I listed a number of important items that were not on the first Agenda and indeed which were not added to it. The list of issues which are either being ignored or swept under the rug or simply the Mayor (Interim Chair) doesn't even know of their existence and importance is unbelievable. Yes we had a discussion of buried Dioxins at GP1&2. We did not mention or discuss returning Odour Issues since last summer, Vapour Intrusion from Varnicolor Chemical into First St. homes or businesses, two ongoing air peer reviews concerning Chemtura and finally eight new shallow wells between Borg textiles and Sanyo Canadian.

What has been ignored by all the parties is that the Control Order while laid upon Chemtura, deals with the entire Elmira Aquifer. The 2028 deadline for the Aquifer(s) to be restored encompasses contamination outside of the Chemtura site. The Ontario M.O.E. and Chemtura know this and are desperately trying to ignore and avoid it. This is why I am so confident that the 2028 deadline is a sham. Speaking of shams, unless this CPAC starts sitting on a weekly basis to get caught up on all the other issues I haven't listed, they never will. The Township have intimated and hinted that they have the expertise themselves to do CPAC's work. Good luck with that because one you don't and two that kind of makes a farce of public consultation, now doesn't it?