CHEMTURA'S NOV. 2012 MODEL UPDATE & EXPANSION TURNS OUT TO BE A CROCK

Yet again Conestoga Rovers & Assoc. Plans are CRAP. We've long known that the ballyhoo around their proposed initial tripling of off-site pumping & treating plus In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) was all theatre as they quickly retreated to a mere doubling of their off-site pumping and then announced that oh gosh the ISCO pilot tests failed. Well it gets worse, much worse. It seems that Chemtura and CRA may have been under a tad of pressure from CPAC's May 2012 Resolution endorsed by Woolwich Council stating that Chemtura would not achieve their 2028 deadline. Thus they jumped the gun with their proposed expansion of the Off-Site Containment & Treatment System (Off-Site CTS) allegedly designed to get their cleanup of the Elmira Aquifers back on track.

Quoting (pg. 4) of the September 2015 "Remedial Action Plan Expansion Design Review" written by GHD "...the results of investigations, assessments completed, and operational issues identified in 2013 and 2014 indicate that the full implementation of the off-site CTS pumping regieme recommended in the 2012 Model Update is not feasible.". So they dropped from tripling to doubling the off-site pumping and that's not even feasible. Why not you ask? Well it turns out that both the current wells involved (W3, W4, W5A, W5B) physically cannot support the major pumping increases recommended and neither can some of the new drilled wells assisting them, particularily W8 and W6A/B.

It seems that aquifer conditions including how thick the sand and gravel aquifer is determines the quantity of water available for pumping. Therefore the new W6A and W6B wells will be unable to sustain their proposed pumping rates. Similarily new well W8 is located on the Yara property and the aquifer conditions are such that its' well yield will only be 1.8% of that assumed in the 2012 Model Update.

For the already operating off-site wells there are similar problems. Well W3 it is now determined can not achieve the 2012 recommended pumping rate of 51 litres per second. At best they feel they might now achieve but 25 litres per second. Some form of damage has occurred to wells W5A and W5B and their proposed well yields have also been cut in half.

At risk of kicking Chemtura and CRA when they are done let me also add this: Their claim of achieving the 2028 deadline according to page 2 was based upon the increased pumping rates both at the new wells and the old being up and running by 2014. It has not happened. Not a drop so far.

This folks has been the history of the alleged Elmira Aquifers cleanup since 1989. I personally have told the facts to past Woolwich Councils, the current Council, Ministry of the Environment and the media. UPAC and CPAC were also kept in the loop. All parties other than the current CPAC either ignored what they were told or preferred to listen to the puffery and junk science proliferated by Chemtura and their partners in pollution.