CHEMTURA/LANXESS OFF-SITE PUMPING CONTINUES TO DISAPPOINT

Way back in November 2012 Chemtura and Conestoga Rovers & Associates made the startling announcement that they had determined that the off-site pump and treat system as currently operating would not completely clean up the Elmira Aquifers by 2028 as mandated and promised. This announcement was only startling because six months earlier CPAC (then Chemtura Public Advisory Committee), followed by Woolwich Council had publicly announced that there was virtually no way that Chemtura would have the Aquifers cleaned up in time. It gets worse however as both the Ministry of Environment and Chemtura/CRA then spent six months denying and arguing that CPAC didn't know what they were talking about. Right up until the hypocrites in chief (Chemtura/CRA) announced otherwise. Unbelievable chutzpah, gall and brass.

The hypocrites in chief stated that in order to achieve cleanup of the Aquifers they would have to both TRIPLE the volume of groundwater pumping and they would also have to do some off-site source removal via ISCO (IN-Situ Chemical Oxidation). Well guess what? Going on five years later and we have none of it. Absolutely none. From November 2012 until August 2017 here is where they are at. ISCO was sloppily attempted according to Dr. Jackson and hence failed miserably. The publicly stated aim of TRIPLING the off-site pumping has been reduced to an attempt to DOUBLE it. In actuality they have increased the off-site pumping from roughly 55 litres/second to approximately 70 litres per second. These numbers are based upon all the off-site wells namely W5A, W5B, W3, W4, E7 and the recent additions of W6A, W6B and last month's addition of W9. Wow 70 litres per second. In fact if the dumb buggers had been pumping at that rate since the start of off-site pumping in August 1998 they would be a whole lot further along than they are. In fact if the dumb buggers had even managed to maintain their rates of 53.1 litres per second for the entire last nineteen years they'd be way farther ahead than they are now.

Talk is very cheap Chemtura/Lanxess. "Supervision" by the Ontario Ministry of Environment has been even cheaper. The only thing that has gotten the lead out of your asses has been citizen pressure over the past thirty years and that has never been enough. By this I mean there have never been enough loud and informed voices at each and every public meeting, CPAC, RAC or TAG meetings . Those of us who faithfully attend despite the harassment and ignorance of our elected Council and M.O.E., continue to exert pressure. One thing is certain and that is history will know that the following names: Uniroyal, Crompton, Chemtura and now most likely Lanxess are synonomous with corporate greed, deceit and environmental degradation.