KEN REGER PASSED LAST SATURDAY

The Obituary in today's K-w record advises that Ken was in his 90th year. Ken was very well known in and around Elmira for his advocacy regarding re-establishing bluebirds into the surrounding area. He built and monitored hundreds of nest boxes in Woolwich and Wellington Townships. Ken also worked for a number of years at Uniroyal Chemical where he was a steamfitter. For me Ken's claim to fame was his advocacy and testimony at the Environmental Appeal Board hearings held in Elmira in the very early 1990s. I also was priveleged over the years to occasionally talk to Ken on the phone for environmental advice regarding Uniroyal's successor corporations (Crompton, Chemtura etc.). ............................................................................................................ I have quoted Ken in my book (Amazon/Kindle) titled "Elmira Water Woes: The Triumph of Corruption, Deceit and Citizen Betrayal". I quoted Ken from articles in the Elmira Independent and K-W Record in which he was quoted speaking at the Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) hearings in Elmira. Ken's testimony was factual, to the point and first hand. He spoke to the results of chemical contamination in the pelts and bodies of muskrats and other animals that he trapped in and around the Canagagigue Creek. He also spoke to the barrels placed on top of each other (9 barrels deep) that were buried at the south end of the former municipal landfill (M-2) on the Uniroyal property. These barrels of chemicals were unearthed during the 1965 excavations to build the Elmirs Sewage Treatment Plant. To this day I believe that his testimony carried more weight and credibility than anything any of the "suits" and other professionals had to say at the hearing. To this day Ken's first hand testimony can still be used to refute both MOE/MECP and Lanxess Canada historic horse manure that they still try to peddle.

LANXESS - TRULY STUNNING COWARDICE

Lanxess use and misuse data with supreme confidence because they know that just like in Russia they can silence dissent and opposing opinions. In Russia they throw opponebnts of their political regieme as well as of their military aggression in jail for years. Here they also misuse the courts albeit not quite to the same extreme. Lanxess have bizarrely used the Pacific Rim lab report as some sort of vindication of their utter and complete gutless wonder failure to properly investigate the Stroh property to their immediate east. Each and every small incursion to sample soils on the Stroh western border with Lanxess (Uniroyal) has led to stunning results when you realize that the overflowing Uniroyal Chemical wastes on the company's eastern border ended over half a century ago. The same thing happened with three out of four sediment samples analyzed from the Stroh Drain as they well exceeded the federal ISQG (Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines) for dioxins/furans. ................................................................................................. The Pacific Rim Lab report provided by myself to Ramin of Lanxess had a composite soil sample with a concentration of 4.06 parts per trillion dioxins/furans. While below the 7 parts per trillion (ppt) soil standard for soils within 30 metres of a surface water body, it wasn't that far below. The other concentration was 1.4 ppt. These are the only two soil samples taken in or around the Stroh Drain to the utter shame of both Lanxess and the Ontario Ministry of Environment. Ramin and Lanxess in their recent Draft Risk Assessment for the Canagagigue Creek brazenly boast that these concentrations vindicate their failures to sample these soils. TWO soil samples beside a 450 metre long drain that indeed have dioxins/furans (2,3,7,8 TCDD) present fifty years after the cessation of gravity flowing waste waters into this private property next door. These two soil samples prove that an honest, serious, unbiased investigation is required. Those two soil samples in conjunction with four sediment samples analyzed by GHD consultants on behalf of Lanxess, in the Stroh Drain, are a smoking gun proving that exactly as the topographical contours of the GRCA, Region of Waterloo, CRA indicate; overflowing waste waters from Uniroyal's east side pits gravity flowed onto the Stroh property to the immediate east of the north end of the Stroh Drain where they settled into a low lying, bowl shaped area. Now of course this low lying area also overflowed from time to time and further discharged these dioxin laced waters further south both on the Stroh property (& Martin property) and then into the Canagagigue Creek. ...................................................................................................... How can Lanxess make their ridiculous claims? Simple. They have eliminated local citizens with backbones who will oppose them. We (CPAC) have been eliminated from speaking, asking questions or making comments at public meetings. The truth is in the data but when the citizen reps are carefully chosen by Woolwich Township (& Lanxess) NOT to be aggressive or confrontational then they are easily ignored and silenced. Brazen lying and incredible bullsh.t are enough to make most good people back down. The data even in the two Reaches of the creek (Reach 3 & 4) closest to Uniroyal/Lanxess have dioxin/furan concentrations all over the map. Dioxins and most chemical compounds do not readly mix in soils the way they do in solvents, oils and waters. Hence you can literally have concentrations a hundred times higher than all criteria literally beside another soil sample (or sediment sample) that has a concentration of dioxins/furans of .3 parts per trillion. This is normal and in fact by going through either the original 2017 and 2020 Canagagigue Creek Investigation data or the same data in Appendix C of this report released earlier this year one readily sees how many soil sample concentrations are exceeded by my (Pacific Rim) lab report and especially also the vast majority ((approx. 94%) of sediment sample concentrations in Reaches 3 and 4 that are exceeded by the sediment results in the Stroh Drain. That Lanxess can in writing explain this away is a lie/bullsh.t on the order of the U.S. claiming "weapons of mass destruction" being in Iraq. The company have no shame and no pride. They are beyond pathetic and are emboldened by the support of fellow travellors including local politicians with their own agenda. ..................................................................................................... As long as Lanxess receive the support of their local fellow travellors they feel no need to be even careful with their lies. Nobody else matters to them including their victims over the decades.

LANXESS STUPIDITY APPEARS INVULNERABLE TO EITHER REASON OR STRENGTH

A week ago yesterday I posted here about the public, virtual TAG meeting and how a number of TAG members while being too deferential to the professional liars present, nevertheless spoke truth to power. Overall I guess that I was pleased that TAG members, despite their deference, did look carefully at the Draft Risk Assessment (RA), and expressed their concerns and criticisms. Maybe someday Lanxess might develop some empathy, concern, human kindness, honesty and decency. Meanwhile it's all bullsh.t baffles brains and nobody at these virtual, public meetings appear willing to call the company out and confront them. Kind of embarasses the crap out of me that this is what citizen "public consultation" has degenerated into. Esther Thiur, Pat Potter and the early Susan Bryant, before being co-opted, would never have believed it would happen. Can you just imagine a TAG member saying to Lanxess/GHD something like: "Wow I really enjoyed your rendition of the limited facts that we have. Could you possibly top that off with your opinion that your pollution has actually toughened up human beings and wildlife and that therefore your saving tens of millions of dollars on proper toxic waste management has helped everybody?" ......................................................................................................................... Way back in 1994 when I, Rich Clausi and Esther Thur left APTE, I advised the media that I would call a spade a spade. I didn't mention calling a liar a liar and in fact have been extremely judicious at in person meetings to avoid quite that strength of language. I've been much less so here. Regardless when CRA or Chemtura/Crompton/Uniroyal just blatantly lied and got caught I have been known to suggest that their comment was "horse manure". Oh for the good old days when you could at least slightly embarass the Ministry of Environment and or some of their bought and paid for consultants. Today it's all puffery and bullsh.t from them all. And we citizens (especially the younger ones) are putting up with it. ...................................................................................................... I hate to say it but it sure looks as if the old guard's patience is going to have to be rewarded via Lanxess (Uniroyal) doing what they have traditionally done which is screw up royally. The last really good one was the BLE-25 fugitive emissions that blanketed Elmira in the fall of 2010. That resulted in a whole sale changing of the guard at the municipal level (i.e. Woolwich Twn.) followed by the best CPAC (Chemtura Puvblic Advisory Committee) there ever was. That mess did property damage with hopefully limited health damage. We may get lucky again or maybe not but rest assurred as long as we have a very weak Ministry of Environment, very weak municipal council and the short term profit motive driving corporations, another one is coming. Maybe there will be a real awakening and maybe citizens will just go back to sleep again.

2021 REGION OF WATERLOO ANNUAL REPORT (Water)

WILLIAM ST. WELLFIELD in Waterloo ............................................................................................................ This wellfield has been problematic for many decades. Personally I blame Seagram's, Canbar and Sunar although what weight or responsibility each should be assigned I do not know. The most obvious horrid contaminant is Trichlororethylene (TCE), the same toxin in both the Middleton Wellfield (Cambridge) as well as in the Bishop St. community (Cambridge) courtesy primarly of Northstar Aerospace with some additional assistance from another nearby industry. ................................................................................................................... The William St. Wellfield consists of four wells namely W1B, W1C, W2 and W3 according to page two of the report. The very next page however we are advised that Well W1C was off-line for one week which could easily have been for annual maintenance. Well W3 however was off-line for 52 weeks last year. That is not maintenance that is a well either shut down for serious contamination or in the alternative "pumping to waste" for the very same reason. "Pumping to waste" is an unfortunately common occurence when you have contaminated groundwater. One well nearest the source may be designated as an Interceptor Well whose purpose is to intercept the bulk of the contamination and pump it to waste i.e. into the nearest sewer, drain or surface water body. This is one of the "management" methods the Region of Waterloo use to stickhandle around proper contamiant remediation. ............................................................................................................................................ The next issue is Sodium. My God but people on low Sodium diets had better not be drinking this tap water. Levels greater than 20 mg/l are reported to the Public Health Department and Ministry of Environment. The William St. Wellfield has Sodium at a concentration of 228 mg/l. Surprisingly to me Nitrates are also high albeit below the criteria of 10 mg/l. Normally Nitrates and Nitrites might be high when cattle, pigs etc. are nearby as in rural areas. William St. is in downtown Waterloo. Regardless the concentrations are higher than most at just over 3 mg/l. ...................................................................................................... Method Detection Limits (MDLs) concern me throughout these Annual (Water) reports. There are eight chemical compounds with MDLs at or greater than 1 ug/l (part per billion) including Glyphosate at a ridiculous 25 ug/l. These high MDLs can hide far too many detections of chemicals that individually may not be toxic but in conjunction with each other are. The science of health effects from multiple simultaneous toxic compounds in drinking water is essentially non-existent. ........................................................................................................................... Then we have TCE. Monthly and more testing shows that it is always present despite minimal treatment. While the results are below the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS) nevertheless both on its own for a period of decades as well as in conjunction with other low level contaminants, I do not believe that our authorities have a handle on the long term health effects. Lastly chloramines (product of bacteria disinfection) are consistently higher than half the standard prescribed by the ODWS and are thus red flagged. Overall Waterloo residents deserve better than this.

THIRTY-TWO YEARS LATER ONTARIO MANDATES NDMA REPORTING FOR WATERLOO REGION

Well I've been calling for many years for increases in the number of contaminants tested for in our drinking water such as toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and NDMA or N-Nitrosodimethylamine. My suspicion of course has been that these toxic contaminants have been tested for for years (decades), detected and simply not reported in these Annual Reports (drinking water). According to page 9 of the recently released water report for 2021: "Municipal Drinking Water License 012-102 issue April 20, 2021 requires quarterly sampling Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at the farthest pouint in the distribution system." This is on page 9 of the full on-line report (Region of Waterloo Annual Water reports) and on page 4 of the first report titled "Integrated Urban Water Distribution System (IUS)". ...................................................................................................... Yes NDMA is the contaminant which shut down the Elmira two wellfields in 1989-1990 courtesy of Uniroyal Chemical with likely assistance from Varnicolor Chemical. Just a small part of the political coverup was the plethora of other polluters in Elmira operating under the huge pollution umbrella of Uniroyal Chemical. This included Varnicolor, Nutrite (Yara), gas stations, landfills, and other industrial facilities. Now at first glance I noticed that despite the Order demanding quarterly sampling for NDMA there were only three samples taken last year. Then looking at the April issue date that became clearer versus my thirty years of experience initially indicating to me that the vast majority of environmental laws are routinely ignored and rarely enforced. ..................................................................................................... The criteria for NDMA in drinking water is 9 parts per trillion (9 ng/l or .009 ug/l). The three samples reported were .0014, .0033 and .0027 ug/l which is the same as 1.4, 3.3 and 2.7 parts per trillion. Gosh I wonder what the levels of NDMA throughout the Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge system were thirty years ago? We'll likely never know.

REGION OF WATERLOO 2021 ANNUAL (WATER) REPORT

The above date is correct. These water reports are produced at the end of the previous year and generally in my opinion are both produced in order to comply with the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act and for public relations purposes. I believe that the Region of Waterloo work hard within political constraints to provide good qual;ity drinking water. The problem of course is those "political constraints" and the number of regional councillors who are more concerned with steady political employment than they are with the health and safety of our citizens. ............................................................................................................... Today I'm going to discuss the 2021 Annual Report for the Middleton Well System in Cambridge. What an expensive and unhealthy water source the Middleton has been for many decades solely due to politicians' penchant to go easy on industrial polluters. Industrial polluters who of course provide employment and a tax base for our local governments. It's a classic case of shutting the farm gate after the horses have bolted. In this case the "horses" are DNAPL (dense non aqueous phase liquids) and to be specific the DNAPL chemical is Trichloroethylene (TCE) the very same chemical that Northstar Aerospace so egregiously dumped and spilled into the Bishop St. community causing immense human health suffering. In the Middleton Wellfield case the obvious source would be Canadian General Tower although I have had an informed professional advise me otherwise. Other suggestions include a nearby drycleaners from the days of TCE being a common dry cleaning fluid. .......................................................................................................................... There was over a third of a million dollars spent on electrical and software upgrades for Well Houses during 2021. This is a drop in the bucket overall for this wellfield and it's highly extensive and expensive treatment facilities necessary to remove toxic contaminants from the grossly polluted groundwater. Only treatment of Grand River water is more expensive. The raw water is both ground and surface water (Grand River) and it is the surface water that contributes bacteria, both E.Coli and Total Coliform, to the raw water input. This is removed via chlorine in one form or the other. Sodium is way too high (140 mg/l) and greatly exceeds the recommended level of 20 mg/l. The vast majority of industrial solvents and pesticides are Non_Detect however some are at far too a Method Detection Limit. In fact a total of nine chemicals are at Non-Detect with Method detcetion Limts (MDL) at or above 1 ug/l. Glyphosate is at a ridiculous MDL of 25 ug/l and this most likely is an administrative method of hiding exactly how much Glyphosate (Roundup) is now in our groundwater from excessive agricultural and residential use. ...................................................................................................................... Trichlorothylene (TCE) concentrations are scary stuff. Yes courtesy of expensive treatment combined with dilution from other wells in the Cambridge Wellfield System, the concentrations are below the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS). One is at 1.7 ug/l (parts per billion) and several in and around 1.5 ug/l or ppb. It is the ongoing longterm presence in Cambridge drinking water that concerns me. Combine that with zero knowledge of interactions with other chemicals (glyphosate for example) and I am very doubtful of the longterm health and safety of drinking water from this source. This wellfield as well as one in Waterloo (William St.) are a screaming indictment of past industrial practices allowing TCE seepage, leakage or dumping into the ground. It literally stays for decades to centuries in the groundwater.

CPAC AND WOOLWICH COUNCIL ANIMOSITY PUBLICLY BOILS OVER

Another history lesson for the smart people who know the importance of history and those that don't can just move along. Your rude, uninformed and stupid comments are just that. In September 2015 Woolwich Council via lying, disinformation and manufacturing a non-existent crisis, once again went to bat for our local, world class polluter. Mark Bauman and Sandy Shantz (councillor & mayor) attacked the integrity and competence of a group of Woolwich volunteers who had been appointed to CPAC (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee) by the previous council. The attack included a by invitation only, private meeting at the Township offices to throw mud and insults upon CPAC members (including myself) who had been refused admittance to the meeting concerning themselves. The date was April 9, 2015 and the worst offenders included Susan Bryant and Pat McLean, former members of CPAC who had not been reappointed by the Todd Cowan administration. They were however not both publicly and privately defamed as the 2011-Aug. 2015 CPAC members were. Also Pat and Susan were quietly removed due to their too close (chummy & self-serving?) connections with Conestoga Rovers and Uniroyal/Chemtura. .................................................................................................................... Between the March 29, 30 (K-W Record) and March 31/2016 Woolwich Observer, the animosity became more public. Then the Record also published stories and opinion pieces on April 5 and 6, 2016 as well. Basically Woolwich Council (Sandy & Mark) decided that payback to these Woolwich citizens and volunteers who had criticized their almost God like understanding and abilities to manage the cleanup of the Uniroyal Chemical polluted aquifers, soils and creeks was due. Therefore with Sandy and mark leading the charge the idiots publicly advised both Dr. Dan Holt and myself to go pound salt when we, following normal Delegation rules and policies, appeared at a Woolwich Council meeting to speak about Uniroyal/Chemtura Canada issues. Sandy and Mark as they have been known to do from time to time, simply made up shit. Oh they said, don't you know that Council have just recently (last summer) made up these two committees of new volunteers regarding the ongoing environmental cleanups? We at Council are far too busy/important to duplicate the job of these two appointed by council committees so take your comments to them. Of course Sandy and Mark didn't add that TAG (Technical Advisory Group) did NOT accept verbal Delegations to themselves. RAC (Remediation Advisory Committee) on the other hand would albeit they would only meet three or four times a year. Some years that is. Other years only twice. ......................................................................................................................................... Well when the smoke cleared Woolwich Council had been publicly roasted yet again by local media including television, radio and newspapers. Oh by the way the one Woolwich Councillor who spoke against the rest of council refusing to listen to Dr. Holt and I was Councillor Patrick Merlihan, co-owner of the Woolwich Observer. He at least knows the meaning of both free speech and the right of citizens to address their councils directly on serious, local issues.