YET ANOTHER MAGNIFICENT, JAW DROPPING DISPLAY OF BBB BY CRA?

BBB - bull.... baffles brains


There are a couple of slightly different maps produced by the Grand River Conservation Authority which show 100 Year Floodplain Mapping on the former Uniroyal Chemical site in Elmira, Ontario. Both Conestoga Rovers (CRA) and GHD Consultants on behalf of Uniroyal/Chemtura and Uniroyal/Lanxess have reproduced those maps at different times. For example GHD showed a 2016 photograph of the Chemtura/Lanxess property in a February 2019 report which showed quite clearly that the 100 year flood of the Canagagigue Creek would not go over the top of the 175 metre long Berm erected on the immediate east side of the Stroh Drain, Ditch and Berm (SDDB). Unfortunately however the flood does run around the bottom end (south end) of the Berm and floods all the low lying and probably contaminated soils to the immediate east of the Berm on the Stroh property. Perhaps the Berm does its job by slowing and weakening the eroding force of the flooding Canagagigue and hence mitigating the volume of soils being scoured and carried downstream. CRA's efforts however in a May 27, 2012 map in their May 2013 "Scoped Environmental Impact Study report either pretend that the Berm does not exist (reasonably likely) or they have it submerged during a 100 year flood.
Inconsistency is both concerning and disconcerting. Citizens don't like to feel that they are being played.

The second issue with these maps is at least consistent. That consistency does not absolutely indicate accuracy however. Both CRA's and GHD's maps indicate that the alleged opening at the north-west end of the ridge of high ground in Uniroyal's south-east corner does not exist. This is extremely significant as it is this alleged low lying opening which would have allowed some of Uniroyal Chemical's 175,000 IGPD (Imperial Gallons Per Day) to flow more or less directly into what Uniroyal/Chemtura/Lanxess refer to as GP-1 (Gravel Pit 1). Without this opening allowing more direct gravity flow of liquid waste waters from the further north pits (RPE 1-5), then the claim that GP-1 was the primary recipient of these gravity flowing wastes is blown out of the water. That claim is already very weak based upon ground surface elevation contour lines. They much more clearly indicate that the bulk of overflowing liquid wastes went south-east ontp the Stroh farm. Then after those discharges from pits RPE 1-5 ended (approx. 1970) the SDDB was built around 1983, in my opinion initially to "drain the swamp" which it did but I later felt that it was also constructed to attempt to reduce the amount of contaminated (DDT, dioxin/furans etc.) soil being eroded during flooding and migrating downstream.

If and when there is ever a serious and honest inquiry into the "cleanup" of the Uniroyal Chemical site and of the Elmira Aquifers, these facts will simply pile on and further bury the credibility of any agencies who aided and abetted Uniroyal. This of course includes the Ontario Ministry of Environment among others.