ANOTHER HISTORY LESSON

May 8, 2012 Waterloo Region Record.... "The township government has now lost faith in that deal and broken ranks with the company and provincial Ministry of the Environment. It is incumbent on the province and company to prove in a reliable way that the cleanup is on track. And if they cannot do this to the satisfaction of the township and general public, they must take stronger measures.". This previous quote is from the Record's own Editorial that day. ................................................................................................................... Continuing the quote..." Is the government up to the challenge? The public has reason to doubt it is. After all, the province long ago signed an agreement with the company on what needed to be done. The government might face legal hurdles to a better plan. And considering that the province is sharing the cleanup costs in a time of massive budget deficits, it might shirk tougher but far more costly action out of a misgyuided sense of frugality. None of this justifies inaction.". ............................................................................................................... Here we now are going on nine years later and NOTHING good has happened. Lots of talk, lots of promises and lots of changes of government; municipal, provincial and federal. The cleanup is being wound down because the latest owners of Uniroyal Chemical (Lanxess Canada) say that the 2028 deadline was arbitrary and they can't meet it. They expect the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE/MECP) to write them a new and nicer Contol Order which the MOE/MECP have indicated they will do. The latest suggested cleanup date for the Elmira Aquifers is between 2050 and 2060 however if allowed the company will redefine "cleanup" as well as possibly pump groundwater from parts of the Elmira Aquifers for use industrially or for other uses. The Region of Waterloo have indicated that most likely Elmira residents will reject any attempts to put them back on Elmira groundwater drinking sources.