YESTERDAY'S RAC MEETING

Well I'm beginning to realize how frail human institutions are. The best institutions can fail if the people in place are corrupt and the poorest, "cringeworthy" committee or body set up to fail can be helpful if they have some very good people on it. TAG (Technical Advisory Group) even without Dr. Richard Jackson are beginning to bring me around. They have a number of very good people on it and despite both RAC and TAG being set up as rubberstamps for Chemtura/Lanxess and the Ministry of Environment (M.O.E.), they are making some inroads.

I presented my Delegation early in the meeting yesterday afternoon. I had softened it somewhat by removing a couple of extraneous and unnecessary, albeit honest criticisms of a couple of persons. I did leave in however a serious shot at what is no more than token public consultation here in Elmira. I also indicated that there are two issues that TAG likely as yet are not aware of. That would be the sham of a cleanup allegedly at GP-1 on Chemtura's south-east corner in 2013-14 and the other the possibility of a groundwater Interceptor Trench that intentionally drained contaminated groundwater from the Uniroyal site onto the neighbouring Stroh farm. This possibly may have been a private deal cooked up with the previous generation of Stroh's on the farm, or not.

RAC (Remediation Advisory Committee) themselves in my opinion are a lesser bunch than TAG in terms of sincerity and honesty. Almost by definition that is so as Chemtura/Lanxess and the Ontario M.O.E. are members (non-voting?). They have the technical knowledge but without the former mentioned attributes their expertise is of limited use and benefit to the public. RAC consists of Lanxess, M.O.E., Region of Waterloo, Woolwich Township and the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) plus the TAG Chair and two members. Sandy Shantz called them "stakeholders" three years ago. What a joke. The Region didn't show yesterday and the GRCA, pardon the pun, are out of their depth in regards to contaminant hydrology. Yes as we are soon to be discussing remediation in the Canagagigue Creek I guess their presence is required. Not a single question came my way from a single RAC member after my Delegation. Similarly not a single question to Ramin Ansari of Lanxess after his presentation on the East Side (Stroh farm) Off-Site Investigation.

The good news is that TAG continue to exert pressure regarding the last two unsuccessful creek Bio-Monitoring events namely in 2015 and 2017. The M.O.E. however are backing Lanxess in not having to do the next event this year by stating that the regularly scheduled 2019 is O.K.. Major weather events had destroyed cages and data during the last two events.

David Hofbauer raised my issue that I had sent to TAG in regards to the Table 8 criteria of 7 parts per trillion (ppt) being appropriate for sample site SS21 as it was within 30 metres of a waterway rather than the Table 2, 13 ppt. criteria. It did not seem to faze Lanxess.

While I had raised the issue of unreliable composite soil samples as well as extremely shallow samples and suggested that both CPAC and TAG were opposed, I do not recall David or Tiffany speaking to those issues.

Mark Bauman was the shocker. He spoke strongly about the need by Lanxess to test sediments in the bottom of the Stroh Drain. He also suggested that Peter Gray of MTE consulting had advised this in his October 2014 report to CPAC. Mark made it clear that in order to stifle criticism after the fact that Lanxess and GHD consultants needed to do more testing in and around the Stroh Drain in order to eliminate it as a contaminant source to the creek. Hmm! Then to add further confusion to Mark's intentions he made the suggestion that Peter Gray should be approached on his own for discussions with Lanxess and GHD.

This smells just like the whole 30 year cleanup smells. Many consultants including Wilf Ruland and others are terrified of Conestoga Rovers and the M.O.E. because those two are capable of if not blacklisting, of at least stifling environmental careers of small companies. Hence the deference exhibited in public to both those unworthy bodies is sickening to honest citizen activists. Mark I know that I'm still human despite thirty years of coverups and lying by our authorities when I can even for a minute question my knowledge and understanding of your flip flops and actually think you are trying to do the right thing. This occurred briefly yesterday until you kept talking and Ramin jumped on only testing the Stroh Drain from upstream of the gravel road and steel conduit under it. I interjected and advised that there were further areas downstream on the Martin property where there were other natural blockages and slowdowns where contaminated sediments could settle.

The guilty parties continue to diligently search for the cheap way out. They continue with Woolwich Council help (Sandy & Mark) to exclude the citizens who initiated this whole investigation of the east side onto the Stroh and Martin farms. The last thing any of them want is honest, open communications with informed CPAC members, all ten of us. This whole exercise is back room, back door, under the umbrella of an incompetent and unworthy Woolwich Council.