CPAC NEXT THURSDAY & JIGS HOLLOW PIT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Next Thursday evening at 6 pm. in Council Chambers, Woolwich Township's Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) will be holding their public monthly evening meeting. At present CPAC seem to be unearthing an astounding array of neverending revelations relating to past, well hidden information. From the sale of the NORTH wellfield to the discovery years ago of off-site free phase DNAPL, namely mercaptobenzothiazole on the Yara (Nutrite) site, the pieces are slowly coming together. Recent revelations that the Region will be unable to use Elmira groundwater until at least 2050 regardless of whether it's allegedly clean by 2028 are stunning. Off-site source removal is now on Chemtura's Agenda a mere two decades after myself and others were demanding on-site source removal. Back then we were lied to about the existence of serious off-site contamination including Varnicolor Chemical, Nutrite, gas stations and others.

Yesterday's Elmira Independent carrys this article "Settlement reached on Jigs Hollow pit". The Ontario Muncicpal Board are recessed on the matter until this Monday, I believe at 10 am. in Woolwich Council chambers. That is when residents and citizens will have an opportunity to address the Board. A number of local residents had participant status at these discussions and I think they may have learned a hard lesson. On Monday we will learn whether or not they feel they were sold out by the Township or not. Meanwhile in the Independent Mayor Cowan is quoted as saying that Council
balanced "...the interests of the entire Woolwich community,". My concern is if that balancing is simply a dollar and cents "balancing". In other words it would be very easy, as in the past, for Council to roll over everytime they are faced with provincial opposition. In the long run they were elected to support the interests of Woolwich residents and yes there is a cost involved.

To me there is an astounding admission in today's Waterloo Region Record regarding this pit and other upcoming Woolwich pits. The Record's Editorial is titled "No quarry but lots of questions". While this is in reference to the proposed mega quarry near Shelbourne being scrapped, Woolwich Township is mentioned namely: "Maybe some of that aggregate will be extracted from gravel pits in Waterloo Region, in Woolwich Township, for instance, where residents have fought to block such operations but are probably not as well connected and affluent as some of the Torontonians who own land in Dufferin County and opposed the mega-quarry there."

Oh my but that is appalling. The Record's Editorial writers are admitting that right and wrong and "...balancing of interests..." is mere drivel and hooey. It's all about raw power, money and political connections. A couple of years ago plus I warned the old Woolwich Council to either get on board with their citizens in opposition to these pits or else to get out of town. Most of them are gone and the current batch of Councillors have now got the same warning.