CPAC IS CANCELLED AGAIN

This is ridiculous. We've now had only six real public CPAC (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee) meetings in the last sixteen months. If you recall there was a lame duck meeting held by Pat Mclean in November 2010 after the Municipal election the prior month. Exactly how much pressure can be put on either Chemtura (Uniroyal) or the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to clean up the site properly with a total of eighteen hours (6x3 hours) of public exposure over a time period of 16x31x24=11,904 hours? None of this is the fault of the new CPAC. All of it is the fault of our new Mayor. Something has gone incredibly far off the rails here. Personally I've seen all this nonsense before. Everytime the old CPAC Chair was unhappy with how things were going at CPAC she would arbitrarily cancel public meetings. Usually it was only a meeting here and there although back in the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008 she shut it down for six or seven months. Mayor Cowan cancelled a public CPAC meeting last summer, this past December and now the January 2012 meeting. In all fairness there wasn't a lot of opposition to the December shutdown. Then of course was his still unexplained snooze from December 2010 until the first public CPAC meeting in June 2011. When I say unexplained I should clarify by saying satisfactorily, logically or intelligently explained to the citizen volunteers who were ready and willing to go from January/February 2011 onwards.

The Mayor's so far unexplained behaviour regarding CPAC is damaging any possibilty of actually getting Dioxins removed from the site. It is damaging any chance of removing shallow, easily accessible DNAPLS from the south-west corner of the site. It is giving both the M.O.E. and Chemtura a free ride past any public scrutiny and accountability. Their hopeless Pump and treat System both on and off-site is going nowhere fast (see yesterday's Advocate posting). We do not stand a chance of having drinking water in the Elmira aquifer by 2028 and the Township of Woolwich both past and I'm sorry to say present take some responsibilty for that. When I say the Mayor's behaviour I'm referring to his penchant for autocratic control of CPAC even while Chairing meetings this fall which caused the M.O.E. to cry for their Mommys. Both Chemtura and the M.O.E. were appropriately feeling the heat, in these public meetings from the CPAC members, which the Mayor did conduct in a civilized and democratic manner. Unfortunately the appearance being given is that he is listening to their whining about being picked on by the citizen volunteers appointed by Woolwich Council. His listening essentially means that he is prepared to unilaterally stall and delay allowing this asinine twenty-three year Farce to go on forever.

Woolwich Council you have delegated the CPAC Chair's position to Mayor Cowan. Yes none of you wanted it including the Councillor originally appointed to it. You as a group are ultimately responsible. If you don't want a CPAC at all then at least have the honesty and courage to say so. Some of us are tired of decades long games being played. I asked you last May to get off the pot and let CPAC get going. In your ignorance and with bad advice, you shot the messenger. You did at least get CPAC started with a date for the first public CPAC meeting shortly afterwards. What are you going to do this time? CPAC are being hobbled, delayed and hampered by your Mayor. He is turning this into a sham and Chemtura and the M.O.E. are very grateful for his efforts. IS THIS REALLY THE INTENTION OF WOOLWICH COUNCIL?