IS THE FORMER VARNICOLOR REMEDIATION ALMOST COMPLETED?

The former Varnicolor Chemical site on Union St. sits smack dab right on top of our highly contaminated Muncipal Aquifer. Back in the early 90's the Ontario Ministry of Environment (M.O.E.) advised us that none of their contamination had left their property or gone deeper into the Municipal Aquifer. Nearly a quarter of a century later, having been dealing with them on a continuous basis regarding Uniroyal/Chemtura Canada, I can confidently say that they would rather lie to the public than ever admit the whole extent of the environemental and human health damage that has occurred.

Despite many calls for reports, data and information over the years the M.O.E. have continued to lie and coverup. They have not told the public about off-site soil remediation/excavation of Varnicolor's (now Elmira Pump) neighbours. Nor have they advised of off-site collection and treatment of contaminated groundwater which had left the former Varnicolor site.

It is very possible that the owner of Elmira Pump has co-operated with and essentially spent his time and money cleaning up the mess left by Severin Argenton. It is even possible that a reasonably good job has been done over the course of the last twenty-two years. The problem is the secrecy and lack of transparency. This is the public's drinking water underneath that site. We have the right to know and to know in a timely fashion. The M.O.E. once again have proven that they are not honest brokers of the public interest. They keep everything secret so that when they make bad deals the public will not find out. It's all about maintaining the M.O.E.'s dubious credibility first and protecting the environment last.

I've recently heard that there will be an approach to Woolwich Council in order to subdivide the property further. I'm going to guess that the M.O.E. have finally, in secret, bestowed a Record of Site Condition upon the owner. Maybe it's legit and maybe not. I don't have any reason to suspect that the owner hasn't done everything asked of him. The problem isn't his credibility it's the total lack of credibility of the M.O.E. combined with the secrecy around this site since the late 90's. Furthermore I've been watching the Woolwich Township website (Council meetings) and seen nothing to date regarding this alleged upcoming Council item. Perhaps a note ahead of time to a couple of Councillors is in order.