LAST NIGHT'S RAC MEETING - NEITHER INSPIRING NOR AWFUL

The meetings started perhaps three or four minutes late and was over 27 minutes later. Yup from 5:03 until 5:27 pm. The Agenda kind of hinted at the possibility of a short meeting but frankly that was a bit weird. There were actually only two items on the Agenda namely 4. "Year in Review and Work Plan for 20222" along with 5. "Risk Assessment Problem Formulation Document". A skeptic such as myself might ask why was there no discussion regarding the Sediment results found in the Stroh Drain last summer which still haven't so much as been seriously commented on or debated. These are Sediment results sampled by GHD on behalf of Lanxess Canada. They are a huge discovery as three out of the four well exceeded the federal criteria for dioxins/furans. DDD also was found and exceeded the criteria yet once again all the guilty parties appear willing to relegate them to time and distance and hence minimize their significance. ................................................................................................................ There are of course other serious matters. Literally for many years the off-site groundwater pumping levels have been far below what Chemtura and Conestoga Rovers (CRA) publicly advised CPAC were needed. In November 2012 CRA advised that the current 53 litres per second off-site pumping rates would be tripled. Later they backwatered and said that they would double them. Typically this past September barely averaged the same volume of pumping as was going on in 2012 much less any increase. This groundwater pumping is the only thing allegedly cleaning up the Elmira Aquifers and it is hardly surprising that the cleanup is decades behind schedule (2028) when they haven't reached their own pumping goals in decades. Not a whisper from any RAC (Remediation Advisory Committee) members about this. ................................................................................................................................... Tiffany Svensson (TAG Chair) advised all that TAG are pleased with overall progress to date. She also advised that TAG are on board that the Risk Assessment is doing well. I would suggest that Tiffany indeed has very low standards and that she has positioned herself to expect a good Christmas bonus for her efforts. ....................................................................................................................................... Ramin of Lanxess also patted his company and efforts on the back during his chat. Off-site pumping well W9 is up and running although it only took an additional two to three years to achieve that. A different company will be doing Lanxess's creek bio-monitoring in future as allegedly Aquatox have bowed out. Hmm. The Risk Assessment is on time and the paperwork will be completed probably by the end of January 2022. There was a new round of groundwater monitoring on the east side (Stroh?) that will be distributed sometime after Christmas. Oh and lastly Ramin rather munificently advised that the HHERA (Human Health & Ecological Risk Assessment) will have a section in it "devoted to the Stroh Drain." Wow that's incredibly generous of you. I'm sure it will be politically correct. Actually what the few honest people still involved would prefer is an honest to goodness soil investigation of the Stroh Drain (SDDB) area especially at the north end and on the immediate east side of that north end of the Stroh Drain, Ditch & Berm.