TIS THE SEASON FOR HOPE

We are less than a year from the thirty year anniversary of the shutdown of the south wellfield in Elmira. Unfortunately Elmira residents were drinking a combination of water and low level solvents plus NDMA long before that. Pretty soon our authorities will no longer have anything to fear from a health study. After all most of the adults exposed for the longest duration will have passed on. Perhaps children living in Elmira from 1970 until 1991 may have health effects they've never understood.

We've had just about thirty years of fiction, fantasy and untruthfulness from just about everybody remotely involved with the 1989 Elmira Water Crisis, whether polluters, governments, consultants or politicians of varying stripes. Hence why would I have even a tiny bit of hope that the scheduled second discussion about the "Gap", the Stroh Drain and the Interceptor Trench might possibly be honest and forthright? Nothing else has been so why now?

The real issue is about a diversion of both surface and groundwater from Uniroyal/Lanxess over to the Stroh farm and then southwards into the Canagagigue Creek (Gig). It is possible that the Stroh Drain was dug in order to legitimately drain low lying, swampy areas on both properties. It would be somewhat difficult to believe that the folks at Uniroyal didn't understand ahead of time that there likely would be some pretty nasty stuff being moved downstream into the "Gig" by this Drain. Regardless depending upon the timing of the construction of the Drain, maybe the GRCA wasn't even informed about it.

The Interceptor Trench however is far more problematic. As is allowing the successor company to the likely guilty one doing the investigation. That would be a classic fox guarding the hen house scenario. Lets see, how about the Ontario MOE? Please, I may be hopeful but I'm no longer naive.

More than one or two more shallow soil samples or one monitoring well are required. If the goal is to eliminate Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) such as DDT, dioxins/furans, PCBs and much more from being washed into the "Gig" then extensive soil samples both shallow and deep are required in the lowest lying areas where they would have settled decades ago. Also the sediments in the bottom of the Stroh Drain need to be tested as well as the creek soils along the Drain. Then there are a couple of downstream locations along the Stroh Drain that have been partially blocked thus allowing dissolved sediments to accumulate. In other words Lanxess, the MOE and RAC need to swallow their pride and honestly ask CPAC for its assistance. TAG members and their chair have been listening and learning. Now the other parties need to as well. It will require back and forth communication and dialogue not Sandy Shantz's stilted pretend public consultation.