RECYCLING IN GRAVEL PITS & HIGH PRAISE FOR CPAC

The Woolwich Observer carry this story in yesterday's paper "Toxic recycling to become more common at gravel pits, watchdog group warns". Meanwhile Thursday's Elmira Independent carried an Editorial by Gail Martin that really caught my eye titled "Making good things happen". While these two topics aren't remotely related I'm including both of them today because it's just not that often that two different important local environmental stories are in the media.

Ontario's Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) for 2014 has thrown a last minute curve at gravel pit activists. Without public consultation it has included the promotion of recycling facilities in pits and quarries. This was one of the issues at the Jigs Hollow Pit and was opposed unsucessfully to the end by at least one Woolwich Councillor, namely Bonnie Bryant. The issue of recycling concrete and asphalt is this. Asphalt above ground on dry land is essentially innocuous. When submerged as occurred in Teviotdale on the Berendsen farm it will leach various petroleum hydrocarbons into the groundwater and nearby wells. The Ontario government, Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Environment threw the Berendsen family to the wolves. The government buried the asphalt in a swamp and then lied unmercifully for years while the Berendsens' cattle died. There are also huge issues with asphalt and concrete being ground up and or crushed. Air emissions especially of silicates from concrete are extremely hazardous. Again shame on our provincial Liberal government for sneaking this into the PPS surrepticiously.

Gail Martin of the Independent has written an Editorial praising the efforts of the volunteers on the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee. Associated with CPAC is the SWAT subcommittee (Soil, Water, Air & Technical) of which I am a member and which I hope she is including. The issue at the moment is the decision by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to do another study of creek sediments and floodplain soils downstream of the Chemtura site, in the Canagagigue Creek. Gail is very optimistic that good information will come from this M.O.E. study and indeed it is worthy because more or fresh Dioxins and DDT found downstream will pressure the M.O.E. to order more cleanup of the Chemtura site. The M.O.E. have oft used the excuse that they can't order on-site cleanup unless contaminants can be proven to still be leaving the site. This argument is pathetic on all levels but is bolstered by the fact that 99.5% of all studies and reports are done by Chemtura's highly paid for decades, client driven consultants. Who wouldn't want the Chemtura gig and the guaranteed lifetime income stream associated with it? Lifetime that is if you behave.

Therefore I hope that Gail's optimism is correct and my pessimism based on the M.O.E.'s history is wrong. There are a thousand ways to jigger scientific studies and the partners in pollution on this site know them all. Allegedly CPAC will have input into the Work Plan produced prior to the study. That Work Plan may require as much study or more than the final results.