ANOTHER POORLY WRITTEN CONESTOGA ROVERS REPORT

The title of their latest literary masterpiece (not) is "East Side Surficial Soil and Groundwater Investigation Work Plan" dated January 2015. I am going to list a few of their many typographical errors and other simple errors that an allegedly professional consultant should have caught before publishing. Page ten "...was removed from east side ponds RPW-6, RPW-7, and RPW-8 and reportedly stored in RPE-3.". Those three ponds are on the west side of the creek hence their name Retention Pond West.

Page 12 "...still bottoms were drummed and buried in BAE-1, adjacent to the future location of RPE-4.". No, BAE-1 is adjacent to RPE-5 which was the last of the east side pits to be built.

Figure 2.1 This is a conceptual hydrogeological model. The errors in it are legion but I'll simply point out that over a year ago CRA covered the well screen in the Municipal Upper Aquifer (MU) in well W4. They seem to have forgotten this in their Figure.

Page 19 This one is kind of funny. They are describing Dioxin concentrations as pg/g or picograms per gram (parts per trillion). However they've written it as "pictograms" per gram. A pictogram is a type of picture it is not a unit of measure.

Page 21 Again Conestoga Rovers appear to be directionally challenged. They advise that the southern and western edges of GP-1 were lower than the eastern edge and then state that overflow of GP-1 would send liquids south and EAST. Come on guys, proofread or edit your reports please.

page 28 We are advised that monitoring well OW32 "...is located in the north end of former waste management area RB-1...". Sorry but it is located at the south end of RB-1 and outside of it.

This is merely but a sampling of ridiculous, lazy errors in this report. There are many more of a more serious nature but this tells me that Chemtura are not getting value for their money. Blatant errors like these are unprofessional and boy Chemtura sure like to put on a show about how professional their work and their consultants work is.

JIGS HOLLOW GRAVEL PIT AGAIN

Yesterday's Woolwich Observer carrys this story titled "New Woolwich council joins an old gravel pit battle". As expected the operator's (Kuntz Sand & Gravel & Preston Sand & Gravel) have begun talks with Woolwich's planning department to see what is involved in them getting a zoning change permitting below water table extraction from their pit directly beside the Grand river in Winterbourne. Winterbourne resident Soyna Sommerville spoke to Council last Tuesday nite stressing the environmental damage done by a below water table gravel pit in that location. As we learned from the Hunder Pit OMB hearing, topsoil that is moved from one location to another and or simply piled and left to sit loses some of its' value for future crops. In other words the quality of soil deteriorates by these disruptions. Ms. Sommerville further suggested that a below water table pit would also adversely affect nearby farm and residential wells. The Winterbourne Valley is indeed a beautiful location and as nasty as an above ground pit would have been this intended increase in the size, depth and duration of the pit is many times worse. I advise that the proposed operators either wait out the high water table as Climate Change and Global Warming are on their side unless they've got the OMB back in line and in their pocket. The OMB surprisingly turned down the Hunder Pit granted for a number of reasons and it was an above water table pit. This new plan should be a non-starter but stranger things have happened.

MAYOR SHANTZ, BAUMAN & LIKELY MARTIN ARE RUSHING TO CHEMTURA'S AID

Chemtura being the gutless wonders they are, are yet again lobbying hard to remove the constant thorn in their side. That would be me. They did so with the Todd Cowan administration and they did so with the current CPAC a couple of years ago. Todd via lying to his Council about this Blog got them to vote me off CPAC. CPAC however would not budge to the pressure exerted by Chemtura to get me off of SWAT (sub-committee of CPAC) nor would they refuse my asking of questions during the meetings.

At least half of the current Council have a history of appeasing Elmira's biggest polluter. That would be Murray Martin, Mark Bauman and Sandy Shantz. What Chemtura wants, Chemtura gets. Those three would rather throw their support behind a corrupt Ministry of the Environment and a proven, deceptive, misleading destroyer of groundwater and drinking water than behind a group of volunteer citizens who have brought Chemtura and the M.O.E. to their knees. Those three simply want to allow Chemtura to escape being held accountable for both past and current discharges of Dioxins and DDT down the Canagagigue Creek. Shame on them.

The current CPAC are a powerful group of honest individuals (less Mark) who's knowledge base is immeasureably strengthened with my twenty-five years of both history and technical know how. By handcuffing me Chemtura hope to weaken the best by far CPAC that Woolwich Township have ever had. CPAC & SWAT combined with MTE Consultants to deliver a devastating blow to Chemtura and the M.O.E.'s credibility regarding east side discharges onto the neighbour's property. Further to my assistance to the public advisory committee was my providing of hydrogeological reports going back more than thirty years. No other citizen either has them or fully understands them and can produce them at a moments notice when required.

Chemtura want me out of the CPAC picture because my broad understanding of all the technical issues and their history makes it far more difficult for them to gild the lily at public CPAC meetings. I constantly call them on their creative factual fictions; all of which are used to buttress their pathetic attempts at cleanup. Half of your Council continue to support these professional deceivers. Professional deceivers includes politicians who never lack excuses and mom and apple pie "reasons" for their behaviour.

WELL DONE GAIL MARTIN & THE ELMIRA INDEPENDENT

Today's front page story in the Elmira Independent is titled "Shantz meets with CPAC to resolve impasse". The so called "impasse" is nothing more than Chemtura once again running from the heat at CPAC. Back in 1999 during the height of the Duke St. Elmira, fumigations, they did exactly the same thing. Eventually they came back courtesy of unecessary concessions given by Councillor and Chair Pat McLean and more importantly pressure from the Canadian Chemical Producers Association (CCPA) who advised Uniroyal they would never receive *Responsible Care verifcation if they were not at the table. Once again we have unecessary meddling going on, this time from the Mayor and Councillor Mark Bauman. I seriously question their motives. From where I sit I see a reprehensible company committed to deceit and chicanery calling in favours from local politicians. Both Bauman and Shantz have a history on Council of appeasing Chemtura when they are throwing tantrums. The so called "respect" issue is essentially a kindergarten red herring and it is both Bauman and Shantz carrying that load on behalf of Chemtura (& the M.O.E.). The real issue is the negligence of Chemtura and the M.O.E. in intentionally turning a blind eye to the diversion and transport off-site onto the Stroh property of Dioxins and DDT.

Both Chemtura and the M.O.E. are running scared from the MTE Consultants Report (Peter Gray) and from the Stroh Drain and possible collector trenches sending their east side contaminated groundwater off-site. The MTE report uses M.O.E. and Chemtura's consultants reports to make the case of knowingly allowing east side discharges.

Kudos to Gail Martin for the detail in which she reported the meeting between Mayor Shantz, Dave Brenneman (CAO), Mark Bauman and CPAC & SWAT. Gail in particular included my comments in which I bluntly stated that the new Council were getting "played" by Chemtura and the M.O.E.. Essentially Chemtura while under appropriate attack were running and whining to the new Council for protection from the nasty folks on CPAC. And this Council (or at least one Councillor and Mayor) were buying into and promulgating the bullshit red herring of "disrespect" rather than focusing on the real issue which is the east side discharges of Dioxins and DDT across private property and then down the Canagagigue Creek. It has been my experience that professional liars such as the M.O.E. learn how to change the channel and deflect issues.

Other CPAC & SWAT members also spoke well to the issues including Ron Campbell, Graham Chevreau, Chair Dr. Dan Holt, Sebastian and Vivienne. I was disappointed somewhat in Gail's Editorial as it also focused too much on so called "respect" issues and not enough on the meat and potatoes. In the real world respect includes honesty and truthfulness first and foremost. Please stop buying into the absolute crap that Chemtura's wee feelings are hurt. They and their ilk (M.O.E.) couldn't give a hoot about anybody else's feelings and they prove it every single day with their neverending fantasies around the Chemtura Canada property in Elmira.

WOOLWICH BIO-EN

The Bio-En Citizens Liason Committee met last evening at the Elmira Library as usual. Most of the usual gang were there including Earl Brubacher, Chuck Martin (audience), Doug Musselman, Bob Gray, Marg Tassy-Keller, Michael Purvis-Smith, Vivienne Delaney (audience), myself (audience) and a new fellow from Bio-En, Paul. At the moment Woolwich Bio-En are operating at about 70-80% of their full capacity.

There was a complaint from Doug regarding the after hours outdoor lighting at the plant. It was felt that as the lighting hasn't changed it was an issue caused by the lights reflecting off the snow. Regardless both Chuck and Earl heard and understood and will make appropriate inquiries as to what if anything can be done.

Bio-En have expressed disappointment with two issues both requiring Ministry of the Environment action. Bio-En's neighbour wishes to buy excess methane gas from them in order to run a generator to produce their own electricity. The M.O.E. will not give approval for a pipeline from Bio-En to their next door neighbour. Secondly there is an issue with many very small loads of feedstocks coming into the plant. By consolidating loads into bigger trucks, fewer trucks could make the same volumes of delivery while lowering traffic volumes and exhaust volumes. Again with this issue all parties are in agreement but the problem appears to be M.O.E. intransigence in permitting truck consolidation of loads in a transfer yard.

Michael Purves-Smith drafted a letter for the Citizens' Committee to discuss. The letter was agreed to unanimously and it urges the M.O.E. to resolve those issues under their control both for the company's and the local citizens benefit.

While in the past the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee have routinely agreed to operating and monitoring changes beneficial to Chemtura, there are substantive differences. Firstly the agreed to changes promoted by Pat and Susan in the past had zero benefit to either the environment or to the local citizens. Secondly unlike Woolwich Bio-En, Chemtura were not playing ball or remotely cooperating with the citizens committee. In fact while receiving concessions of financial benefit to themselves they were seriously misleading the advisory committee on other matters.

There is a major difference between being cooperative for the benefit of all versus selling out to the company for your own personal advantage. To date I am pleased to say that I have been very impressed with the ethics and cooperation displayed by Woolwich Bio-En to the citizens committee and to the community as a whole.

CHEMTURA/CRA "RESPOND" TO THE MTE CONSULTANTS REPORT

Chemtura/Conestoga Rovers are such a bunch of wankers. For three months Chemtura have sat on their behinds and said nothing about the MTE Consultants Report presented to CPAC and delivered to them last October. This report is a bombshell that they were not expecting and which in fact quietly and calmly condemns their lack of action if not outright negligence on the east side of their property. The MTE Report is devastating as it combs through old Ministry of the Environment reports and consultants reports providing text, figures and diagrams showing off-site flow of toxic liquid wastes to the east, onto private property. These consultants reports include many who were working on behalf of Uniroyal Chemical at the time.

The report released last week by Conestoga Rovers is titled "East Side Surficial Soil and Groundwater Investigation Work Plan". It is a typical Conestoga Rovers & Associates Plan or CRAP for short. The front page states that the report is in response to a "request" from the Ontario M.O.E.. dated October 29, 2014. Gosh what a coincidence that date is. My calendar indicates that the crucial CPAC meeting that presented Peter Gray's MTE Report was October 30, 2014. While I knew Chemtura and the M.O.E. were both psychotic I didn't know they were psychic as well. Nary a mention of the CPAC meeting. Nary a mention of Peter Gray and his game changing report. And finally not a mention of CPAC having commissioned this report. Once again Chemtura and their partners in pollution are attempting to rewrite history. This CPAC have them on the ropes and all they are capable of doing is running and crying to the new Woolwich council. The Mayor and CAO have been advised by CPAC and SWAT that concessions are inappropriate and counter productive.

More details will follow on CRA's latest pathetic efforts on behalf of Chemtura via this report.

JIGS HOLLOW PIT & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Last Saturday's Woolwich Observer advises us that the "Jigs Hollow Pit back in play". A negotiated settlement between Woolwich Township and the Ontario Municipal Board had permitted Preston Sand & Gravel to begin an above the water table gravel pit just across the Grand River from Winterbourne. In 2013 it was determined that groundwater levels were significantly higher than expected making the pit uneconomical for the small quantity of gravel above the water table. What's a corporation to do but apply back to Woolwich Township for a below the water table permit. This will require the full zoning amendment process.


Recently one corrupt body (Ont. M.O.E.) and one corporation by definition serving their own interests have been complaining to Woolwich Council members and Mayor about how hard done by they are. In their opinions being treated less than respectfully for minor transgressions of dishonesty, lack of integrity, non transparency, non accountability etc. is unprofessional. What can I say? What kind of a person would I be if I respected any of those behaviours? Dr. Henry Regier has recently distributed a wonderful treatise on professional ethics including definitions (Wikipedia). I suppose grudgingly I could reduce my gratuitous use of accurate insults such as calling the Ont. M.O.E. corrupt. I suppose particularily if I was made an offer say by Woolwich Township, a sweetener if you will, to induce less accurate and honest terminology, I could do so without a huge loss of clarity and specicivity.