His name is Bill Clarke and he is featured in a story in today's K-W Record titled "Ground water expert warns against development in southwest Kitchener". Oh my talk about a late to Jesus moment. The article written by Terry Pender advises that Mr. Clarke worked for developers building subdivisions around Maryhill and Erin. He also worked (problematically) for gravel pits and quarries looking to expand. I've got one to add to this. He wrote the groundwater report on behalf of Golder & Associates for Varnicolor Chemical in Elmira. Now I'm going on memory for the following but I believe that he also testified at an Environmental Appeal Board hearing on behalf of Severin Argenton, owner of Varnicolor Chemical. My recollection is that he stated that in his expert opinion there might have been a small spill or two of solvents, perhaps measured as a couple of cups of solvents! Good Lord I recorded and gave a written document to the Ministry of Environment recording a dozen or so spills over the course of a year with the minimum spill being a 45 gallon drum of dirty solvents.
So at this time Mr. Clarke is "...disillusioned by this unchecked growth and expansion." He also states that "...thinking about doing any of this stuff is beyond my comprehension." regarding open season for development in southwest Kitchener. O.K. maybe Mr. Clarke has genuinely seen the light decades after the fact. Perhaps what he thought was both normal and O.K. for the environment and in the public interest in his youth, he now understands is no such thing. I'm going to hope that he has sincerely rethought about the advantages and disadvantages of unchecked growth and come to a new understanding as exemplified by his comments in today's article.
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