RAC MEETING NEXT THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

The Agenda for next Thursday as well as the Minutes for the last RAC (Remediation Advisory Committee) meeting of April 11, 2019 have been sent out. General complaints first. The last RAC meeting was nearly five months ago. Why aren't these Minutes sent out months ago when they are fresh in the minds of the attendees? That said I do believe that I was advised that copies are somewhere within the Minutes of Woolwich Council meetings, possibly months ago. While something it's not good enough. Send the damn Minutes out promptly to the attendees of those meetings!

RAC has met or is scheduled to meet in 2019 namely April 11, September 5 and December 12. That is pathetic and please do not hide behind self-serving rules instituted by the guilty parties stating that three meetings per year are adequate. They are adequate if your goal is appearances only. If you seriously want to be involved with the cleanup of both the Elmira aquifers and the Canagagigue Creek then it is at best tokenism.

Three lousy meetings a year and both Eric Hodgins of the Region of Waterloo and Nancy Davy of the Grand River Conservation Authority can not attend the last RAC meeting. For God's sake send replacements or stand up and wave a white flag and admit this committee is an intentional waste of time.


TAG reps had some very good comments at the last RAC meeting such as not being satisfied with the lack of a number of other contaminants such as lindane not being included in the list of Contaminants of Potential Concern (COPC). Also TAG were still planning on having a representative of a local lab attend TAG to talk about method detection limits and the issue of them being so much higher than both provincial and federal criteria.

TAG also advised that they were unhappy with the vast majority of sediment samples being taken from the bottom of the creek via shovels versus the proper core samples.

RAC were advised by Mr. Almeida (GHD) that there had been a large scale spill of 2,4,5-T ester at some point in the past in or around Building 15 Tank Farm. No specifics were given particularly as no questions were asked about it.

Discussion from Mr. Este (Dwight) of Lanxess about the proposed Community Advisory Panel (CAP) took place. It was to be up and running very shortly. One more phony public consultation body to buttress the polluter and regulator and their inadequate work.

Ramin Ansari (Lanxess) made a presentation regarding the Creek Investigation Report, the Contaminants of Potential Concern and the Conceptual Site Model (CSM). We were reminded that dioxins/furans were constantly found at higher concentrations at greater depths in creek bank soils, creek sediments (bottom of channel), and in floodplain soils. DDT was found at higher concentrations at greater depths only in creekbank soils and is consistent at greater depths otherwise. This information puts the lie to both the MOE/MECP and Uniroyal/Lanxess claims that these toxic substances remain at shallow depths only such as 15 cm. or 5.9 inches.

It is my opinion that just like past Risk Assessments on the Uniroyal site that this one for the Creek will be a Crock! The process is dominated by politicos, qualified persons (QPs) allegedly, consultants, and those either beholden to Lanxess or accepting money from them with little or no honest and informed citizens with any say in the process. Even the honest experts mostly have zero to little first hand experience or history with this site and will be given the mushroom treatment i.e. covered in sh.. and kept in the dark. This is where honest, informed, non-co-opted citizens presence is desperately required.