KNOWING ABUSE OF OLD ORDER MENNONITE NEIGHBOURS

DISCRIMINATION IN SITING OF CHEMICAL COMPANY? ................................................................................................... Of late there have been petitions on Change.Org relating to the siting of landfills, chemical companies, gravel and other obnoxious, environmental enterprises. The suggestion is that they are often proposed in low income neighbourhoods as well as in neighbourhoods of colour other than white. The theory is that one these neighbourhoods don't have the resources (money) to mount a full scale counter attack and two that based on their low incomes a potential new business in their neighbourhood might hire them, hence less opposition. There may also be a third part of that theory that considers opposition from black, indiginous, people of colour (BIPOC) to be of less significance than say opposition from white folks. In other words blatantly racist. ..................................................................................................................... It is very difficult not to believe that Uniroyal Chemical in Elmira knowingly permitted their toxic liquid wastes to flow eastwards onto their neighbours property (i.e. the Stroh farm). That said I do not believe that the Stroh family are or ever were Mennonite. That religious designation however applies to Uniroyal's neighbour on their southern border, namely the Martin household. The Martin property while immediately south of Uniroyal Chemical also extends eastwards and is located beneath (on a map) or south of the Stroh property. It is my understanding that Uniroyal and possibly later owners of the Uniroyal property had a deal with the Stroh ownership. This likely included payment for crop damages along the northern half of their mutual property line. I am however not aware of any "deals" between Uniroyal Chemical and the Martin household. ............................................................................................................... The problem arises from liquid wastes crossing over onto the Stroh property further south in the constructed (1983) Stroh Drain area. This Drain which I refer to as the Stroh Drain, Ditch & Berm (SDDB) travels southwards across the Stroh property where it joins a natural spring fed creek that continues south across the Martin property until it discharges into the Canagagigue Creek. This natural creek also both directly and indirectly replenishes the Martin swimming pond. Sebastian Seibel-Achenbach and myself both personally visited (with permission) this area and saw for ourselves how this southern end of the SDDB could be slightly diverted and additional water sent into the pond or how when the creek/SDDB was flowing well a part of it would naturally flow into the Martin pond. I have been appalled for almost seven years now that not one of our authorities (municipal, regional, provincial) have shown the slightest interest or concern that previously gravity flowing liquid wastes and or contaminated groundwater from Uniroyal/Lanxess was ending up in a private swimming pond for local Mennonite children. ...................................................................................................... The absolute refusal by all political bodies, Lanxess, MECP etc. to do basic soil testing in the most likely areas (immediate east of SDDB) is in my opinion, gross negligence. To this day DDT, dioxins/furans, lindane, PAHs and more continue to enter the creek via erosion and move further downstream. All the local guilty parties have made their self-serving deals and all the other stakeholders namely the public, nearby landowners, the environment in and around the creek, and downstream users and inhabitants are left to suffer the health consequences.