LYING TO THE PUBLIC (& Others) IS AN ART FORM: PUBLIC MEETING HELD AT WOOLWICH COUNCIL

Is it possible? Could it be that it just isn't incompetent or nasty councillors who are damaging the public interest? Yesterday I watched the YOUTUBE video of Monday night's Public Meeting held by Woolwich Council. This Public Meeting was in regards to the proposed Zone Change to allow an expansion of a gravel parking lot further over top of the former Bolender Landfill. Various lies were both by commission and omission. One big omission was everybody's refusal to utter the word "METHANE". It was actually hilarious as various parties including consultants as well as Woolwich staff gave a plethora of reasons and excuses why the covering of the parking lot had to be coarse gravel not asphalt. The truth as buried in GSP group's "Planning Justification Report" is that a gravel surface will not prevent subsurface methane from venting to the surface whereas asphalt or other impermeable surfaces will. Why do we want this methane to vent upwards into the air? The alternative is that internal, sub-surface pressures will push the methane laterally until it finds an outlet. If that outlet is a house basement with a gas fireplace, gas furnace or even a gas water heater all three having an ongoing pilot light, then guess what follows. BOOM! ........................................................................................................................... Other lies included the claim that asphalt (recycled or otherwise) will leach chemicals into the groundwater. That's not good if true because the last time I looked all our roads, highways and parking lots are covered with asphalt. Yes if dumped and submerged for decades, old broken up asphalt can leach chemicals. Otherwise not so much. When one spots one or two glaring lies then it's hard to have any confidence in what is being presented. Once again the long term neighbouring residents are going to be inconvenienced for the financial benefit of the few. It is not good planning to constantly encroach Industrial activities into residential neighbourhoods. Also it is not good faith to constantly lie to the local residents about the still ongoing methane issues. Buried in the consultant's report is the admission that methane is still present above the Lower Explosive Limit at several locations. Zero mention of that at the Public Meeting. To date I believe that no one has died or been injured. Is that what Woolwich are waiting for before they honestly and transparently properly address that issue?