Friday, March 22, 2024

THE "NEW" TRAC IS REARRANGING THE DECK CHAIRS ON THE TITANIC WHILE DISPLAYING LIPSTICK ON A PIG

 TRAC is also sleight of hand. Woolwich, Lanxess and the MECP (Min. of Environment) are waving TRAC around with their right hand while they are furiously refusing to debate the facade that the pump & treat system has become. 

The on-site municipal aquifer pumping wells (PW4 & 5) have not made their Target pumping rates in over TWO YEARS!

The on-site Upper Aquifer Containment & Treatment System (UACTS) has been decreasing over the last five years. Normal pumping rates were from .9  l/sec to 1.2  l/sec for many years. Starting in July 2019 they began to slowly and consistently decrease with no intelligent explanation being given either to the public or at RAC & TAG. They have since been as low as .2, .3, .4   l/sec. Hence one can expect the leakage that they admit to plus more going from the extremely contaminated south-west corner of the Uniroyal/Lanxess site  into the Canagagigue Creek. 

The off-site containment & treatment system (OSCTS) consisting of W3R, W5A/B, W6A/B, W8, W9, E7 has also been hugely problematic. Their pumping rates are up and down like a toilet seat and have been for decades. 2019 wasn't a bad year for consistent pumping (not perfect) and 2015 - 2017 were very good. Keep in mind these "good" years however were at the Target Rate set prior to 2012 when in November of that year Conestoga Rovers and Chemtura publicly promised to TRIPLE the off-site pumping rates in order to achieve drinking water standards in the Elmira Aquifers by 2028.

They were as good as their word (sort of) in that they never Doubled much less TRIPLED their pumping rates and they have NOT achieved drinking water standards nor will they by 2028, 2050, 2060 ???

Woolwich Council has clearly embraced failure so just like RAC, TAG and now TRAC they won't talk about their failed pump & treat system.  Who knows, without source removal maybe adequate and consistent pump & treat might have worked.  Personally I doubt it but we will never know because we have allowed the polluter to under pump, by their own Target Rates,  for so very long. They will again allow garrulous, deferential bureaucrats, "experts", consultants, councillors and others to set the Agenda and determine who talks about what and when.  Do you actually believe you will accomplish anything in the public interest? Nobody can be that naive for this long . Or as Saul Bellow stated "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." 

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