PROMISES AND LIES: ARE THEY ONE AND THE SAME?

Two days ago I posted here that Lanxess's off-site pumping stinks. Today we are going to look at an article in the Woolwich Observer dated October 1, 2005. The title was "Crompton site remediation behind schedule". You guessed it , it's all about off-site pumping or the lack thereof. You know it's pretty bad when the polluter and his alleged regulator first sell a bill of goods to an unsuspecting public. That bill of goods was that hydraulic containment, otherwise known as pump and treat was the only appropriate method a) to stop the spread of contaminants from the Uniroyal site and b) also the only method to clean up the off-site Elmira Aquifers. What makes it worse however is when those in charge nickel and dime the already cheapest, least effective method possible. Finally above and beyond all that is when they lie, deceive and bafflegab the public throughout the process.

Wilf Ruland, hydrogeologist, advised CPAC in a September 23, 2005 letter that only one out of three pump and treat systems operated by Crompton was being utilized anywhere near its' full potential. Crompton and their spokesperson Jeff Merriman were of course all over this with their usual litany of excuses. According to Jeff "...ammonia levels in the wells have hindered pumping during the warm summer months.". "For certain times of the year, the creek is more sensitive to ammonia and that's in the warm summer months.".

Well I've just gone through my old pumping records from 1999 until 2009 and guess what? Yes there are some years where the pumping decreases during the summer months allegedly due to ammonia considerations. There are however just as many years where the pumping rates from October through to April are just as low as they are during the warmer summer months. It seems clear to me that this is but one more example of Crompton embracing a problem and then using it as an excuse to either reduce pumping rates to save a nickel or simply not to be in a hurry to fix whatever the newest problem might be such as burned out pumps, plumbing breakdowns etc..