2011 TOP NEWS STORIES IN WOOLWICH

Both our local newspapers, the Elmira Independent and the Woolwich Observer (Pg. 9) summarized their top stories for 2011. As is to be expected there were a number of overlaps. Both papers had ample stories covering a plethora of gravel pits throughout the Townships including peer reviews, O.M.B. upcoming hearings and Cultural Heritage Landscape designations (West Montrose). Victoria Glen in Elmira, Hawk Ridge Homes also in Elmira and the proposed LRT system for K-W and Cambridge were also mentioned in the Observer. The Independent covered in reasonable detail the delays and eventual naming of the new Chemtura Public Advisory Committee. They also mentioned the resignations eventually of all the former members including one who couldn't seem to be bothered attending while he was a member but nevertheless made a big deal out of his resignation. The Independent also covered the public CPAC meetings as well as the news that the Ministry of the Environment were again, twenty years later, going after the old Varnicolor site for more cleanup. Finally our favourite local polluter, Chemtura, were mentioned in regards to Dioxins and DNAPLS still on site and in the ground.

ARISE SOLAR SYSTEMS IN TROUBLE

This is very disappointing to see a local well known manufacturer and designer of renewable enrgy in financial trouble. Arise Technologies Corp. filed a notice of intention with the federal bankruptcy office last month in order to stave off creditors while they reorganize their finances. Today's K-W record has the full story in the Business Section titled "Arise hopes to save solar systems division". Arise has installed solar systems at the Region of Waterloo operations centre, the City of Kitchener operations centre and also the University of Waterloo. Clearly their technology is state of the art, accepted and doing it's job. Apparently other aspects of the business, including development costs, have been causing them their financial problems.

ANTI-IDLING BY-LAWS ARE A GOOD IDEA

Today's Kitchener-Waterloo Record has the following story "Anti-idling bylaw cruises into Year 2". This article focuses on the City of Cambridge by-law while also giving us a rundown on other area municipalities. The by-laws focus on schools and public areas at the moment but will most likely expand to other city facilities such as arenas. Personally I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who let their engines idle, whether summer or winter. It's hard on the engine, wastes gas, invites theft if you've just ducked into the corner store and essentially marks you as a Neanderthal who doesn't understand that air pollution literally kills. This newspaper article advises that education is a key element and that info slips were handed out first rather than tickets. Apparently the old adage that you can catch more flys with honey than vinegar is accurate. Similar to smoking in public places, people are starting to catch on and that's a good thing.

IT'S ALL ABOUT APPEARANCES

Will the 20th and 21st centuries go down in human history as the "show" and "pretend" centuries? Will they be recognized as the triumph of appearance over substance? This following story, at this point in time, deals with allegations, uncomfortably familiar allegations. Rules are in place, rules are ignored, perpetrators appear to be unaffected and whistleblowers (messengers) are shot.

Today's K-W Record has this story " Keystone "whistleblower" alleges shoddy materials". The whistleblower is both an engineer and an inspector for a company that worked on the original Keystone pipeline from the Alberta tarsands down to the American Midwest. This is the same pipeline that is being proposed to be extended down to the U.S. Gulf States through and above some very environmentally sensitive aquifers. According to a Mr. Klink he raised substantive issues during his inspections including substandard steel, construction methods such as improper foundations for pumping stations and fudged safety tests including leaking joints during pressure testing. For his efforts he was fired. On the surface it would appear that the process of inspections during construction is more about appearances than reality. Yes the construction company can honestly say that they've followed mandated procedures. Yes they've hired inspectors and read their reports. It's a shame that all the inspectors can't take their pay, go home and drink or drug away their guilt. Imagine some inspectors (employees, citizens etc. ) actually having integrity and a conscience. For some employers, politicians and big shots it's all about the money. Down the road environmental disasters can be 'remediated" and most probably for a profit.

THE BATTLE RAGES QUIETLY

Ever noticed how local issues of great importance seem to disappear for months at a time? Where do they go? O.K. we know that Hawk Ridge Homes is awaiting an upcoming O.M.B. hearing. Same with the Hunder Pit, Kuntz Pit (Jigs Hollow) and also the proposed Murray Pit beside the proposed Capitol Paving Pit in West Montrose. Further testing and excavation are planned for the old Varnicolor Chemical site on Union St. Chemtura claim they will remediate the Dioxins at GP1 & GP2 on the south-east corner of their property while at the same time refusing to hand over soil and water samples obtained last October. The old Becker's site has been excavated and rebuilt. Their will be further remediation of the gas and diesel compounds via a process known as ISCO or In Situ Chemical Oxidation. This process breaks down (oxidizes) the hydrocarbon contaminants. Absolutely nothing is happening regarding the two source areas off the Chemtura site namely the subsurface DNAPL by the Elmira water tower as well as the NDMA source area which shows up at well CH38 by the Sanyo Canada property. Woolwich Bio-En also appears to have gone into hibernation. Anyone know where this project is currently at? Finally there are still more contaminated sites in Elmira which have not been fully (or at all) addressed. Borg is more than a little suspicious as is an NDMA contaminated area west of Chemtura near the old Shirt factory on Park St. Then there are a myriad of former gas stations which have been somewhat cleaned up but with little or no public input or knowledge. Linkbelt also known as Procast has my interest. Location wise it would be good for development being close to the downtown but is it clean?

CHEMTURA NOVEMBER 2011 "non" PROGRESS REPORT

Last Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 26 & 27) I wrote about the horrendous state of off-site groundwater pumping as well as the unsurprising discovery of more DNAPL (dense non aqueous phase liquid) on the Chemtura (Uniroyal) site. Off-site of course means off the Chemtura site and basically throughout the town of Elmira.

Today I'm going to try and finish this report. There are five drains named 0200, 0400, 0800, 1100 and SWS for surface water system. The first four are also called part of the MISA (Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement) system. These first four are all subsurface drains with manholes at the surface to collect rainwater which lands on this industrial site. The problem over the decades is that all these drains deposit chemically contaminated water directly into the Canagagigue Creek. Again unsurprisingly, all these chemicals are ubiquitous to Chemtura's soil and groundwater and routinely contain lindane, aniline, carboxin and NDPA. For twenty years Chemtura and their consultants have tried to convince us that these drains are isolated from groundwater infiltration. At the same time they deny that any of their chemicals are sitting loose on the surface. This is simply one more reason why they have no credibility with informed persons. Their excuses have ranged from off site airborne deposition to blaming the nearby railroad tracks for the contamination of their chemical plant.

Table C.2 lists surface water concentrations of various chemicals in Canagagigue Creek. Chemtura have a program which magically replaces common sense to allegedly advise us if there is a statistically significant difference between upstream and downstream chemical concentrations in the creek as it passes through the Chemtura property. Simply looking at the values in this Table advises us that the arithmetic mean of numerous samples is higher downstream for NDMA, NMOR, Ethyl Benzene and Toluene. Amazingly enough all of these chemicals are in Chemtura's soil and groundwater and any belief that this causes their appearance in the creek as it passes through their contaminated property is merely the ravings of uninformed, biased activists "out to get" Chemtura.

Appendix E deals with on-site groundwater readings at Chemtura in either UA1 (Upper Aquifer 1), UA3 or the MU (Municipal Upper aquifer). Literally dozens of toxic chemicals are found in all these aquifers despite on-site pumping started TWENTY YEARS ago. That's right the on-site pumping started in January 1992. Most amazing to me is not the wells located near the pumping wells which have had reductions over two decades but the massive concentrations still appearing throughout the site. Also interesting are the Method Detection Limits (MDL) in use in some of the more contaminated areas. This is typical for grossly contaminated sites. Essentially there are so many different chemicals present that the labs can no longer readily distinguish chemicals with lesser concentrations in the groundwater. For example on pg. 6 (of 30) Table E.1 there are MDL's of 30,000 and even 50,000 parts per billion. This means that "hits" of 10 or 20 thousand parts per billion aren't even found or recognized.

Appendix F deals with groundwater concentrations off site throughout Elmira. Again particular wells located next to off site pumping wells may have their concentrations reduced as long as those wells are pumping. As soon as the wells stop pumping or slow down, the concentrations rise again as the off site wells are all located close to subsurface chemical waste, whether in solid or liquid form. The number and concentration of toxic chemicals under Elmira is still unbelievably high and the current plans to achive drinking water standards by 2028 are nothing but "factually flexible fictions".

HAPPY NEW YEAR WORLD !