Monday, June 23, 2014

COULD THEY BE GETTING READY TO RUN?



For a very long time I've felt that Uniroyal/Chemtura were an integral part of the community in Elmira, Ontario providing employment and a tax base, at a minimum. This belief is being shaken. I'm slowly beginning to realize that it is unlikely that this company's American masters will ever be willing to pay even a small proportion of the full costs to undo the environmental damage they have done. As far as the health damage those costs also will never be recaptured by Ontario taxpayers. I am aware of government jurisdictions sucessfully sueing tobacco companies and indeed now looking at Big Sugar for the health damages they have done. Will the time come when complicit governments will also go after particular chemical companies for their antisocial behaviour and resulting injuries?

This last month has not been kind to either Chemtura Canada or the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. With a little literary license here I could be persuaded that the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) are howling for blood. They are not amused at even more recent revelations indicating dishonest and nefarious behaviour by 2/3 of the partners in pollution. The October 7,1991 Settlement Agreement aka "Sweetheart Deal" and associated Indemnity was bad enough. Now despite protestations from Susan Bryant that "nothing was suppressed - maybe lost, maybe not attended to but not suppressed", the evidence says otherwise. Two breakthrough letters regarding removal of on-site DNAPLS were suppressed by the past CPAC Chair with the complicity of Chemtura and the M.O.E.. Jaimie Connelly, M.O.E. senior hydrogeologist, and Wilf Ruland hired and paid by Woolwich Township stepped up and put in writing their opinions on DNAPLS. Wilf's May 15, 2008 letter not only didn't get to multiple CPAC members at the time, as admitted by Susan Bryant, but it never even got filed into the Township's CPAC archives. I of course as a decades long member of CPAC and environmental activist never even so much as heard about these two letters until this past January.

Next we have the recent revelations surrounding Chemtura's eastern property border and previously unknown surface water drain. How do we suddenly discover twenty-five years later a major surface drain immediately downgradient of their eastern retention pits (RPE 1,2 3, 4, 5) running parallel to their property line, only twenty feet away? After the very same Susan Bryant raised concerns about potential surface drainage over a year ago does the M.O.E. "investigate" and advise CPAC & Susan that there is no surface drain from Chemtura going overland towards an old order mennonite swimming pond when there certainly is! The likelihood of Dioxin and DDT transport is huge and even after the fact the M.O.E. so far do not appear to be taking it seriously.

At the last CPAC meeting (May 29/14) Chemtura and the M.O.E. got roasted as reported in detail by me here in the Advocate. Well our new CPAC Secretary Lisa, released the Minutes of the meeting last Friday. Again I've reported some of the details but briefly stated Chemtura and the M.O.E. must be squirming. If they had had to suffer these public humiliations on an ongoing basis over the last twenty-five years then we'd either have a cleaned up Elmira or they would have slinked off, never to be seen again, a long time ago.

Obviouly the M.O.E. are attributing at least some of the heat to me. I've long known that both they and Chemtura have lobbied Woolwich Township for years to get me off and keep me off CPAC. Their attitude is that as a formal CPAC member it gives weight to my opinions. This is true but they have also miscalculated badly. Even as a member of CPAC's sub-committee known as SWAT I've done serious damage to their credibility. George Karlos, Assistant Director of the West Central Division of the M.O.E. has been mounting a campaign to remove me from SWAT. Basically he's been not so subtly harassing the CPAC Chair with ongoing comments and complaints that my "behaviour" is contrary to Woolwich Township's Code of Conduct. Clearly public consultation for this government Ministry is a one way street involving the Ministry being given carte blanche the right to lie, cheat and deceive the public, whereas the long suffering public are expected never to get upset by the M.O.E.'s dispicable behaviour. It is to the credit of both CPAC and their Chair that this hypocritical behaviour has been recently squelched in a most professional but firm manner.

Hence Chemtura head office in Waterbury Connecticut; I think you've overstayed your welcome. My preference is for you to stay and clean up your mess but if you're not willing to do so then please leave.

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