FINAL CANAGAGIGUE CREEK SEDIMENT AND FLOODPLAIN SOIL INVESTIGATION REPORT (March 18, 2019)

This report and various drafts have been underway for at least the the last three years. Strong criticisms have come from the MECP (MOE), TAG, CPAC and myself as a CPAC member. This latest iteration consists of more than 2,500 pages. Unless one is paid to stay on top of an issue, dragging it out over a period of years and literally many thousands of pages of technical reports pretty much guarantees that citizens' ability to stay with it in detail is greatly compromised. That is probably done intentionally.

I just received an e-mail this morning with the data although thankfully I have been promised a hard copy of the package. That is worthy of a kudo to Lanxess and others. Obviously I have not read this report yet although a quick glance certainly indicates that the data is from the 2017 sampling done in and around the creek. Going only from memory at this point in time here are some of the issues with this report.

Allegedly the routine dumping on land and water of Uniroyal's dioxins/furans/DDT, lindane, parathion, endosulphan, solvents and oh so much more ended in approximately 1970. Yes groundwater leakage continued for decades more. Flooding of the creek also scoured and redeposited these contaminants downstream. We are less than a year away from half a century since they stopped more or less direct discharges to the creek. Does anybody not think that the bulk of their filth has already gone downstream to the Grand River and to Lake Erie? Seriously? Fifty years to seriously address cleaning up the Canagagigue Creek??? My suggestion is to throw all the surviving Responsible Parties (RPs) and Qualified Persons (QPs) advising them, into jail. That might do far more to avoid future damage than attempting cleanups half a century later. Shame on the province of Ontario, MOE, Uniroyal, Crompton, and Chemtura at a minimum.

The list of Contaminants of Concern (COC) is ridiculously short. The criteria were made by Chemtura/Lanxess and they stink.

There is a locational bias in all the sampling along the creek. The objectives and mandate was to learn where these contaminants are located. Exactly how is that possible when the sampling has only taken place at the easy access locations by the New Jerusalem Rd., Northfield Dr. and Jigs Hollow Rd. beside West Montrose?

Much further study is required to sift through this report. This report will then be the basis for a Site Specific Risk Assessment (SSRA) done for both Human Health and Ecological (wildlife) purposes. Dr. Henry Regier was intimately involved with the last SSRA done in the early 2000s for the Uniroyal site. He referred to is as greenwashing for scoundrels. Why would this next SSRA be any better?