LOCAL RESIDENT CONFRONTS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR CLEANUP HELP

The September 18, 2004 Woolwich Observer carried the following story titled "Calling on feds to join the party". Dr. Henry Regier, current member of both the EH-Team and CPAC, sent a report to the Auditor General of Canada titled "Elmira's Legacy of Agent Orange and Related Tragedies". Henry's report states that the Canadian federal government has a responsibility to clean up the property. This is due to Uniroyal's production of Agent Orange for use in chemical warfare by the Americans against the Vietnamese. The American government had the tacit if not explicit concurrence of the Canadian government for this production here in Elmira.

Lynn Myers, Liberal MP at the time agreed with Henry by stating " ...it was government agencies... that requested these materials be produced. " "...And in my view, the responsibility has to be partially borne by the federal government...in terms of cleanup.".

CPAC members at the time were supportive of Dr. Regier's report asking for federal assistance. Henry stated that Auditor General Sheila Fraser wouuld have 120 days to respond with comments or suggestions to his report. Unfortunately we now know that our federal government did what all governments are experts at; namely bobbing and weaving and passing the buck on to others.

WOOLWICH OBSERVER'S WEATHER PREDICTIONS

As is my habit I routinely cut out newspaper articles of significance and interest to me. Usually if I'm going to post about them I do so shortly after having read them and cut them out. Today is a little different in that I am posting about an article (Editor's Notes) in the Woolwich Observer from last May 11, 2017. Steve Kannon, the Editor, wrote the following Editorial titled "Recent heavy rainfall and flooding likely the shape of things to come".

Of course it is during an ongoing unusual weather event that I have decided to post about Global Warming also known as Climate Change. Also of interest, in hindsight, was the timing of Steve Kannon's Editorial. He was talking about unusually cold weather combined with heavy rain in the first week of May. In fact he wrote that the first week of May has dropped "...more rain than we usually see in all of May.". So what is the timing issue I'm talking about? Last June Waterloo Region as well as north of here was inundated with rain during an overnite episode. Normally even with the extraordinary amount of rain that fell, the flooding wouldn't have been such a record breaker. However Steve's Editorial clarifies things. The ground was already saturated hence the huge downfall literally had nowhere to go except into surface waterways, basements, garages and low lying areas which it did with a vengeance.

Currently we are experiencing both unusual cold for this time of year plus it has been of unusual duration. Historically the two coldest weeks of the year have been the last week in January and the first week in February. That is a few weeks away and we've been in this cold snap for at least a week already. Yes the two heaviest snowfall months are December and January, historically. Thus the snow is no big deal although yours truly was secretly (or not) kind of hoping that global warming would lessen that workload.

Now just because Steve Kannon predicted warmer weather (as well as greater flooding etc.) during a cooler than usual April/May and just because we are currently in a deep freeze (-25 C, -13 F) this morning, I'm not going to take a cheap shot at Steve's predictions. Anybody older than 40-45 years knows that summers are getting hotter, there is more rain in winter than we've ever had before and generally less snowfall. Also I believe that overall winters have been milder over the last few decades.

Two days ago I posted about the methane issue in the Bolender Park Landfill. I pointed out that our current unusually cold weather very well might be the straw that allows methane gas to migrate horizontally into nearby homes and businesses where their heating systems (furnaces, fireplaces) will likely be going full blast. We all hope this does not result in a disaster. If it does our local illuminaries will undoubtedly blame a leaking natural gas pipe, ISIS terrorists, tampering (suicide?) and last but not least the weather if they finally have to concede the possibility of methane gas being the culprit. That said Steve Kannon's Editorial makes it very clear that it is not just exceptional weather events that cause disasters. Usually it is "...caused by poor land-use decisions, among other public-policy foibles.". This fellow citizens will exactly be the cause of any such disaster (fire/explosion/vapour intrusion) if it occurs here in Elmira, in and around Bolender Park.

MORE ON THE NOVEMBER LANXESS PROGRESS REPORT

Late last year I posted here about the utter failure to date of Chemtura/Lanxess to honour their pledges to Triple not Double their off-site (ie. Elmira Aquifers) pumping and treating of contaminated groundwater. In fact they have at best increased their pumping rates from their November 2012 pledge by perhaps 20%. Double would be a 100% increase and triple would be a 200% increase (ie. 50 litres/sec to 150 l/sec) approximately.

Today I will make some comments about other issues in their November Progress Report. They are advising that all routine pumping of former workhorse well W4 is now over. What the hell! They have been decreasing the pumping rate there for some time now but actually stopping it while claiming to be increasing off-site pumping seems bizarre. This despite their claims that they have preciously documented their intent to do so is still not appropriate until or unless other wells are up and running successfully and taking up the slack and more.

Table A3 lists chemicals detected in various pumping wells of the Upper Aquifer Containment & Treatment System (UACTS). Some of the concentrations are in the thousands of parts per billion for at least three different chemicals with other chemicals in the hundreds of parts per billion. Both LNAPL and DNAPL chemicals are being found dissolved in groundwater at concentrations indicating that they exist in the subsurface as free phase chemicals namely chlorobenzene, toluene, MBT, Carboxin and Aniline. This is based upon their Effective
Solubilities versus their Lab Solubilities. Effective Solubilities are indicated when there are multiple chemicals in a sample of groundwater. In one sense they can be interpreted as "competing" for limited space as dissolved contaminants in a sample of water. Thus Effective Solubilities are much lower than Lab Solubilities where a contaminant is by itself dissolved in a litre of pure water.

Something strange is happening with contaminant concentrations in the Canagagigue Creek. For years those concentrations have been getting lower and lower to the point that long term statistical analysis barely shows any degradation of the water from Uniroyal signature chemicals as samples are taken at the downstream end of the creek on Uniroyal/Lanxess property versus the upstream end. This month however we have Toluene, m,p xylenes, Mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and Benzothiazole (BT) all higher downstream. This is very bad news and could indicate failures, among other things, in the UACTS.

Overall "Progress" is slow, inconsistent and unsatisfactory. In my opinion this is all based upon intentional money saving decisions made by Chemtura/Lanxess, their consultants, the M.O.E. and tacitly/indirectly by our political authorities here in Woolwich Township, for decades.

STILL WAITING

Following is the second of two e-mails sent this morning to the entire Woolwich Council, two senior Staff and the Ontario Ministry of Environment. I had sent them 40 questions regarding the Bolender Park Landfill on November 13, 2017. None have been answered to date. These questions followed five public Delegations to Council during the summer and fall in which I pointed out numerous problems with their consultants and their handling of methane gas problems in and around the landfill.






Council, 2 Staff and M.O.E.: P.S. Predictions are risky and fraught with unknowns. That said you need to know that methane gas takes the easiest route available. Normally that is upwards through soil pores where it discharges into the atmosphere. In the winter time however the soil is frozen (frost) plus there is a blanket of snow above it. Also in the current extreme cold you can understand that both furnaces and basement gas fireplaces are running far more than usual even in normal winter months. The frost and snow mean a far greater likelihood of lateral (horizontal) migration of methane gas via the three possible modes of transport. The gas fireplaces and constantly running furnaces means a method of ignition for intruding gas.

Normally methane gas dissipates after thirty or fourty years. According to your 2016 monitoring it is still far in excess of the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL). Likely part of this persistence may be related to the decades long failure of your gas extraction system installed in 1984 with the approval of the Ontario Ministry of Environment.

You can take appropriate steps now for a tiny fraction of the cost after a crisis. I have already advised you in writing of some straightforward actions. Your refusal to date constitutes negligence in my opinion. Heaven forbid that any Elmira residents experience an explosion or fire but your refusal to properly address this problem magnifies their risk. Insurance coverage alone is not due diligence. Liability insurance will not exonerate either elected politicians or senior staff who were advised prior to the unthinkable happening.

Yes there are many unknowns. That is primarily due to your negligence in proper perimeter monitoring and ongoing, regular testing. Those costs, I repeat, are nothing compared to both the monetary and human costs that will entail after a disaster. Do you think that you will walk away unscathed if you do not do everything in your power to protect Elmira residents? Do you think that you will be able to hide behind either your consultants or the M.O.E.? The stage has been set such that the world will know if another crisis hits Elmira that could have been avoided by the responsible actions and due diligence of both our elected representatives as well as our provincial authorities.

Sincerely Alan Marshall

BOTH A REMINDER AND A CLARIFICATION

Also I'm setting the record straight here. In various media over two and a a half years ago it was stated that I asked/demanded/insisted upon the removal of Mark Bauman from his position as the elected (O.K. acclaimed) councillor for Woolwich Township (St. Jacobs). Other people saying it so doesn't make it so. I would like to see some quote or written words from myself that expressly said that I initially advised the Woolwich Clerk that he had to be removed from office. My recollection is that I pointed out that he had broken the Municipal Elections Act (1996). End of story.

One reason that I did not pursue the Mark Bauman violations rigorously is that I too realized, after the fact, that he had been acclaimed and presumably had no expenses to declare. And yes that is correct, violations as in plural. More on this later.

Nevertheless this story does have some disturbing factors. How many citizens know that Mr. Bauman went to Superior Court to be reinstated (despite the Township Council & Clerk never formally giving him the boot) without the formal complainant (myself) even being advised as to the court date, time or name of court? That's right he went to court asking a judge to give him a break, claiming an honest mistake, without another party being present to at least give both sides of the story. Oh yes, allegedly Woolwich Township were the Respondent to his Application to Superior Court. They however, as best buddies, advised the Judge that they had no position which means they did not oppose his Application. I and Woolwich Township citizens were ignored and back doored. If advised I would have attended on time and given the judge other facts that would have I hope at least given the judge pause. He would not have so naively, publicly declared afterwards how easy a decision it was to reinstate Mr. Bauman. Of course it was an easy decision. The only evidence entered was self-serving and uncontested.

Here is what I would have advised Justice Grant Campbell of the Ontario Superior Court. Firstly the Woolwich Township Clerk, Val Hummel, was in multiple violation of the Ontario Municipal Elections Act. She had NOT, allegedly by her admission, informed Mr. Bauman prior to the filing deadline that he needed to fill out a Form 4, Financial Statement and give it to her. Secondly, contrary to the law, she had not removed Mr. Bauman from office either before or after this or any citizen advised her in writing that he had failed to file his Election financial statements with her. Thirdly that Woolwich Council were also in violation of the law by not insisting that Mr. Bauman be removed from office immediately as demanded by the Municipal Election Act. This automatic penalty I belatedly became aware of. Fourthly that the Woolwich Clerk produced a number of factual fictions for my consumption when I, with a witness present, first advised her of Mr. Bauman's serious violation of the Elections Act.

I am not certain as to whether or not I have posted these factual fictions here previously. For the moment I am not naming the witness present at my request during my conversation with the Clerk . This is because I no longer know their reliability. It was a Woolwich councillor who since has indicated some animosity towards me. The first nonsense out of the Clerk's mouth was that indeed Mr. Bauman's Financial Statements were on-line in the Woolwich Township website. Wow, anything to get out of a spot apparently. They were not on the Township's website whereas the others (less Todd Cowan) were and I made that clear to her. She then claimed that oh she was simply late posting them on-line and Mark's Financial Statements were actually on her desk. That was an easy subterfuge to circumvent and I demanded to see it immediately as was all citizens' right. Literally fifteen minutes went by while she allegedly went looking for it. In fact I believe that she was likely conferring with CAO Dave Brenneman wondering what the hell to do. She came back and advised my witness and myself that as Mark Bauman had been Acclaimed (again) that it was a Woolwich "tradition" not to require him to file a Financial Statement. WOW! These good folks apparently believe that Woolwich "traditions" trump provincial legislation. Astounding!

The final item I would have presented to Justice Campbell was the Waterloo Region Record's Editorial dated May 26, 2015 and titled "Unenforced laws are useless laws". This was prior to Mr. Bauman's essentially secret sojourn down to our hallowed halls of justice in Kitchener. The Record pointed out that the law, while imperfect, was very clear. Mr. Bauman had forfeited his office due to either his negligence or due to his refusal to file Financial Statements. They also pointed out that Woolwich officials (Clerk), Woolwich politicians and even the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs all refused to obey and enforce the Elections Act. This flouting the law with impunity means that Woolwich Township believe that they can pick and choose which laws they obey and enforce. These are the people in charge here in Woolwich Township. They are not the best, the brightest or apparently even the most honest.

Getting back to Mark's failure to file after the 2014 election (ie. violations plural). This was not a one off. The very same thing was done after the 2000, 2003 and 2006 elections. He did not file Financial Statements after being Acclaimed and Woolwich Clerks, staff and politicians knew it. The law was blatantly broken over and over again before I spotted it.

WHO TOOK OUT THE BEAVER DAM IN ELMIRA?

A few years back I found a beaver in Elmira who had died of lead poisoning. He was however on private property and his construction had flooded a private roadway. While undecided on this solution nevertheless I could certainly understand the frustration of the landowner over the situation. A similar solution however not on private property I find more problematic.

This past summer I and some friends enjoyed watching the construction of the dam and lodge along the Kissing Bridge Trail (Trans Canada Trail) at the north end of Elmira. If one leaves Arthur St. near the Woolwich Observer newspaper and walks west (towards Floradale & Wallenstein), past a few of the pedestrian bridges, one could see the ingenuity and industriousness of a local beaver at work. The dam was built at a location which already had a natural tiny dam in place. The beaver added to it substantially and succeeded in making a larger, deeper area in the creek upstream of the dam. It actually wasn't until the fall and the leaves were dropping that I could see where he had located his lodge. This area is also upstream of the Elmira Golf Course and wasn't affecting their property at all.

Well lo and behold on my last walk out there it soon became clear that the dam was no longer holding back water. In fact a closer look indicated that it had been intentionally broken open and the backed up water all released downstream. What the heck? Who was negatively affected by this dam? In fact I expected that the dam would be helpful this coming summer and other future summers as it would help store water for the dry summer months when Larch's creek gets extremely low. Three or four summers ago the creek actually dried up, flow stopped and there was only water in a number of deeper holes in the creek. To my mind this dam was an attribute to the natural environment both health wise and cosmetically.

Does anyone know whether this action was the result of a complaint to a municipal or provincial ministry or agency? Or on the other hand was this a private action of a nearby property owner with a legitimate concern over possible damage to his property? If anyone knows please feel free to comment below. Thanks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !