ARMS LENGTH SECRET DEALS BETWEEN CHEMTURA & WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP?

Oh my, oh my was past CPAC Chair Pat McLean completely out of her mind? I knew that she and former CPAC member Susan Bryant had been negotiating private deals, allegedly on CPAC's behalf, with the Ministry of the Environment. I caught them doing so in the fall of 2007 regarding the Ammonia Treatment Certificate of Approval discussions. That issue at least had come to CPAC's attention via the front door. This latest twist, to the best of my knowledge, was handled outside the proper and formal CPAC venue. Despite that, the written documentation just handed out by Chemtura has Pat Mclean's signature on a document that states "This memorandum of Understanding is based on telephone discussions between Chemtura, the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) 0n December 18, 2007.".

I am appalled. Firstly the CPAC Terms of Reference do not and never have permitted the Chair to take action or make decisions outside the formal CPAC process. One vote per member and indeed originally the Chair didn't even have a vote. I was still a voting CPAC member in December 2007 (until April 2008) and this issue was not discussed or debated at CPAC. Next both Chemtura and the M.O.E. as members of CPAC (non voting) had copies of CPAC's Terms of Reference. They knew that both Pat McLean and CPAC had absolutely zero authority to enter into written agreements with Chemtura. CPAC ironically due to the promotion of Pat McLean had been a formal Committee of Woolwich Township since 2000. I was one of the lonely voices who spoke against it at the time.

So the question is did Pat do this with at least the tacit approval of then Mayor Bill Strauss? Pat had been kept on CPAC as Chair even after she lost her Council seat to Sandy Shantz. Pat and the Mayor were supportive colleagues and she was given the continued role of CPAC Chair as a consolation prize when it should have gone to Sandy Shantz. Also it begs the question did the rest of Woolwich Council know that their committee of council (CPAC) was making written agreements with a private company (Chemtura)?

So did Pat go completely rogue here? I have some information years ago courtesy of Susan Bryant in which she described Pat as a "control freak". My personal knowledge would not so describe Pat. Bluntly put she abuses authority on a regular basis. Whatever authority she is given by whomever she will twist, strain and push that authority way beyond its' limits.

Finally I need to ask what the hell are Chemtura doing in exposing this? They (& the M.O.E.) are tainted by this behaviour as well. Whether the Township were doing arms length deals knowingly with Chemtura via the CPAC Chair or whether she was going behind both CPAC's back and the Township's; this Memorandum of Understanding has no authority or validity. Chemtura included this MOU in a Conestoga Rovers Report dated Febuary 2010 that they just handed out to the current CPAC this week. The title of the CRA Report is "Emissions Validation Study : Determination of Emission rates for ...From Building 37 Process Vents".