TAG/LANXESS PRIVATE DEAL JUST GOT MORE SKETCHY

I told Susan Bryant decades ago that when you lie down with dogs you get fleas. In other words making deals with truth challenged, smoke blowing obfuscators is always a bad idea that rarely ends well. Or as an accountant friend of mine likes to say "Verbal deals aren't worth the paper they aren't written on." It's been my experience that even written deals mean nothing to people who have far more money than either integrity or honour. .................................................................................................................. The TAG Chair made a private deal with Lanxess accepting that overland flow of toxic waste waters onto the Stroh property was unlikely between 1942 and 1970. This occurred of course after I had submitted a written Delegation to TAG last February which included maps and text. The maps and information was referenced and included data from Conestoga Rovers, MOE and GRCA. Part of the purpose of my Delegation was to remove the option of plausible deniability from the TAG Chair in that she or Lanxess, MOE/MECP could not at a later date state that gosh they had never had the opportunity to closely examine the agreed upon, by all parties, ground surface contour lines which show exactly where liquids gravity flowed from the east side waste pits (RPE 1-5) onto the entire east side length of the Stroh farm. Lanxess and the MOE/MECP have agreed that there was some overflow onto the north two thirds of the Stroh property only. TAg has kindly confirmed this information in their July 30, 2020 Minutes (pg. 7) of that public TAG meeting. ........................................................................................................ Now it appears that Lanxess have undermined their own and TAG's position and private deal. Somebody once said that when you tell the truth you don't have to keep checking your past words so that your current words don't conflict with them. If you've spoken honestly and honourably in the past and continue to do so you will avoid tripping yourself up by undermining your own past sketchy statements. Yesterday here in the Advocate I mentioned the latest report released on behalf of Lanxess Canada by their consultants GHD. Well lo and behold on page 3 of their report titled "2020 Canagagigue Creek Sediment and Soil Investigation Work Plan", GHD have firmly put their and Lanxess's (& TAG's) feet into their mouths. GHD have referenced the Stroh Drain by referring to it as they usually do as the "Drain at 6770 Line #86". The Stroh farm fronts onto Highway #86 on Church St. in Elmira on the immediate east side of the Lanxess (Uniroyal) property. This highway runs directly between Elmira and Guelph, Ontario. Quoting from this very recently released report "Sample points are located in locations to determine soil and sediment quality within the drain, whose drainage area comprised a portion of the east side of the Lanxess site." ...................................................................................................................... "...Whose Drainage Area Comprised A Portion Of The East Side Of The Lanxess Site." WELL! Gosh that only took six years for the company, whether Chemtura or Lanxess to admit the obvious. Back in 2014 CPAC and I (SWAT sub-committee) presented maps, photos and data to Chemtura Canada regarding the Stroh Drain. They all pretended to be surprised including the Ontario Ministry of Environment that there was a man made drain running parallel to the Chemtura property line for approximately 125-150 metres and which was barely ten metres from that property line. Again all the ground surface contour lines made it obvious where surface waters ran plus the Drain was deep enough to be intercepting and redirecting shallow groundwater as well. ............................................................................................................. Six years to admit the obvious and to do so metaphorically speaking all of five minutes after denying it. This is partly why the "cleanup" is past thirty years and counting when the companies are allowed to behave like five year old children covered in peanut butter denying that they opened the jar. They are not worthy of either respect or polite conversation from citizens and stakeholders. Shame on our governments for pretending otherwise.