ARE MECAC CORRUPT & A NOV. 2015 RECORD ARTICLE PROBABLY PROVING UNIROYAL/CHEMTURA DISHONESTY

 MECAC - Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee - heavily populated by retired politicians trying to polish each others and current politicians public images. My opinion to the question in the title above, based upon first hand experience at the time as well as serious reflection afterwards, is yes, hell yes, stunningly yes. Just another pack of self-serving, egotistical snots yet again at the public trough.

   The title of the Record article written by Paige Desmond and published on November 2, 2015 is "Chemtura boosts water cleanup". Once again it was all a sham as in "Chemtura is doubling its efforts to pump and treat Elmira groundwater..." and "Four new wells have been installed and infrastructure is under construction." The reality is that yes at least four new wells were planned as in Wells W6A/B, W8 and W9. However the W6 and W8 wells were located and pumped at a tiny pumping rate such as .4 litres per second and .08 l/sec. respectively.  Meanwhile the only well with a planned serious pumping rate was W9 and allegedly due to technical difficulties it took literally several years long after 2015 to even begin to regularly pump it.    

  Further more the "addition " of these new wells was accompanied by the complete shutdown of very heavy pumping well W4 (near Howard Ave.) and the reduction later on of Well E7 to intermittent or "pulse" pumping . All for show or at least all for saving the chemical company as much money as possible with the willing complicity of its' fellow travellors.

SAME OLD PUMPING CRAP ONLY DIFFERENT

 Lanxess continues to disappoint.  With everyone's attention focused on the HHERA or Human Health & Ecological Risk Assessment, it is so easy to miss the routine day in and day out cleanup failures. Of course I've been posting here literally for years about the lack of off-site, Elmira Aquifers pumping rates. Well make no mistake even though June 2022 off-site pumping is higher than it has been over the months, years and decades it still isn't adequate by the criteria set by Chemtura/Conestoga Rovers in November 2012. Not even close although total off-site pumping last June was just over 70 litres per second. 

   Now we get to on-site pumping and dear Lord while that also has never been at the rate that Jeff Merriman of Chemtura promised (i.e. 6.0 l/sec)  nevertheless it has at least been targeted for 4.7 litres per second and usually is close to that. Well not for last month when the daily average for the entire month was  a meagre 3.7 litres per second. We are advised that this is due to plugging of the pipelines that convey groundwater from the wells (PW4 & 5) to the treatment system. These wells are both in the Upper Municipal Aquifer (MU). These pipelines will not be unplugged before the end of July or early August.

   Yes TAG member Linda Dickson will undoubtedly pick up on this decreased pumping of the on-site MU at the next TAG meeting (Aug. 11/22). I am not sure however that she will realize the enhanced problem of reduced on-site pumping combined with even marginally increased off-site pumping. Basically the Target Rate set by GHD of 4.7 l/second is the MINIMUM pumping rate needed to maintain hydraulic containment of the heavily contaminated municipal upper aquifer at the "normal" pumping rate of 53-62 l/sec. The current off-site pumping Target rate is about 64 l/sec although rarely achieved especially with the intermittent pulse pumping at well E7. With the current increased off-site rate of 70 l/sec and the on-site pumping reduced to only 3.7 l/sec the direct result is a loss of on-site hydraulic containment. In other words the lowered off-site municipal (MU) water level will exacerbate the reduced on-site pumping (therefore higher water level) causing a loss of hydraulic containment and a loss of dissolved chemical contaminants from on-site to off-site. This whole issue of balancing on and off-site pumping so as not to overwhelm the on-site pumping has been well known for decades. So why are they doing it? There is no good answer.

   

"THE ELMIRA CLEANUP IS A SHAM"

 The quote above is from a banner that I had attached to the roof of my car way back in the mid to late 1990's. I believe that I parked outside the then municipal arena on Schneider Ave. to attend a public  UPAC (Uniroyal Public Advisory Committee) meeting.  Probably my concern was in regard to the ongoing DNAPL (Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquid) coverup by Uniroyal/ CRA with the acquiescence of the Ontario Ministry of Environment. There were of course other cleanup failures ongoing by then including the plans for the Upper Aquifer Containment & Treatment System (UACS). The fact of the matter is I likely believed that individual parts of the cleanup were inadequate but still believed that there was hope if not optimism for a really good cleanup. It was never to be for a multitude of reasons.

   On-site source removal was never a priority.  As late as 2003 CPAC's  (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee) Soil & Water Sub-Committee produced a three page document which listed, to the best of our knowledge at the time, locations of on-site buried wastes including DNAPLS. Little honest work was done.

   Uniroyal was heavy into conquer and divide with local environmental activists especially those in APTE. Private meetings and deals were already the norm including sweeping away DNAPL cleanup in exchange allegedly for creek cleanup down the road. Exactly how well has that worked for you Susan and Sylvia?

   Unknown to me Woolwich Township were securely in the pro Uniroyal/Chemtura camp. Decades later I found out that Uniroyal had not infiltrated early Town Councils, they actually dominated them. This continued as the polluter (Uniroyal) and the Township shared environmental and engineering consultants quietly for decades. 

   All our allegedly local public bodies knew where their bread was buttered. The GRCA, Region of Waterloo, MOE, Woolwich Twn. all pretended to be in favour of a real cleanup of the groundwater, surface water and on-site Uniroyal soils when in fact they were simply delaying and running out the clock. Whenever it mattered at UPAC or CPAC, lies were told, contamination was minimized, cleanup costs were exaggerated. The running out of the clock was in regards to allowing Uniroyal contamination to leave the site via all the various transport mediums including air, groundwater, surface water, erosion etc. to be disbursed and distributed downstream, downwind and down gradient (groundwater). 

   Local candidates friendly to Uniroyal always popped up prior to municipal elections. Some kept their pro polluter biases on the downlow for many years others were less subtle. All the guilty "stakeholders" promoted and gave public acclaim to those citizens working on their behalf while those who were not received the opposite whenever possible.

   So today we are on the cusp of the finish line according to Uniroyal/Lanxess Canada. That is shameful based upon the failure to restore to drinking water standards our formerly excellent groundwater and to restore the Canagagigue Creek as much as possible by eliminating at the minimum the dioxins/furans and DDT in exceedance of all health criteria in and around the Creek. Meanwhile the site itself in Elmira remains a constant threat to further recontaminate our groundwater until or unless the worst soil chemical contamination is removed. 

ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL (OLT) UPCOMING FOR PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL HOUSING ACROSS FROM LANXESS (UNIROYAL) & SULCO (CCC)

 In the history of bad ideas and bad planning decisions this is one of the really bad ones. That said I will suggest that Woolwich Township for a change have been on the right side of this one to date. Lanxess/Uniroyal initially were also in opposition but apparently since they got rid of their Anhydrous Ammonia uses they feel that their risk of being the cause of a catastrophic human disaster have been reduced. For several months I have had this Monday July 18/22 marked on my calendar as the scheduled start of the Hearing brought by the proponent against Woolwich Township. 

   The proponent is looking for municipal approval and the proponent over the last decade has made changes including noise barriers and possibly improved noise insulation in the walls of homes facing Lanxess and Sulco. Several years back the proponents lost a Hearing based upon what I felt was a relatively bogus reason namely night time noise from shunting rail cars on the Lanxess and Sulco property. Indeed the noise is an issue however for me and other locals with knowledge of the history of spills, fugitive emissions, fires and explosions from Lanxess/Uniroyal; those seemed to be the most terrifying concerns that could cause a loss of life of nearby residents. 

   Oddly enough I have seen absolutely nothing in either the Woolwich Observer nor the Waterloo Region Record regarding this supposed Hearing (OLT) starting this Monday. Last minute discussions and negotiations often occur but seriously there is public opposition to the dangerous location of this residential development and some notice or update would be appreciated by all. 

SO SANDY WANTS TO CONTINUE WITH THE TOWNSHIP'S GREENING INITIATIVES AND ENSURE THE ELMIRA BYPASS PROJECT COMES TO FRUITION

The title above is due to Sandy's comments in today's Waterloo Region Record article  written by Paige Desmond titled "Township mayoral races picking up".  While all of us applaud the planting of more trees i.e. a greening initiative, somehow I feel that the abject failure to limit herbicide  emissions from Uniroyal/Lanxess fails that goal. This includes components of Agent Orange that are in the soils and sediments downstream of the former Uniroyal Chemical plant including 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, dioxins/furans etc.  Obviously the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), insecticides (lindane, endrin, endosulfans, DDT) are also harmful but more likely to the benthic community, fish and animals moving up the food chain. And oh yes of course to human beings whether residents, farmers, fishermen etc.

   Sandy also feels that the Elmira bypass is a good idea. Of course it is. Downtown Elmira is clogged with trucks and diesel fumes. Plus local and other developers just love the idea of having shifted the Elmira bypass to the east side of Elmira. Taxpayers as usual will foot the bill for more expensive infrastructure namely roads and bridges. The Canagagigue Creek and its' floodplain are larger and wider on the east side whereas a bypass on the west side would require less cost to the taxpayers. Then there is the hidden bonus. East side commercial and industrial development including a highway will literally gravel and pave over the legacy of no downstream cleanup in the Canagagigue Creek. Burying toxins will not protect anyone. It will simply continue the do little or nothing policies of Sandy and friends (Uniroyal, Crompton, Chemtura, Lanxess, MECP) that have been going on for a half century. "greening initiatives" my butkus!   

WOOLWICH MUNICIPAL ELECTION HEATING UP

 O.K. I'm being a little humourous/sarcastic with that title above. We have just recently doubled our nominees for Mayor from one to two. Yup that's it. Sandy Shantz has joined the fray against Councillor Patrick Merlihan who declared two months ago. Isn't that strange. It appears that Sandy may not have actually embraced the idea of running against a challenger. Now I say this based upon my recollection of the last two municipal elections. Four years ago I believe that Sandy was acclaimed i.e. there were no challengers for the Mayor's position. Eight years ago the incumbent Mayor Todd Cowan imploded. Now with further thought during that campaign I think that Sandy had declared prior to Mr. Cowan's unfortunate descent into the depths of accountability which eventually included  criminal charges only some of which he beat. His re-election chances however were long gone prior to election day and prior to his conviction on one of the lesser charges.

   Regarding the other councillors the lack of nominations is also peculiar to date. That some may choose to not run again is certainly both an option and probably in the public interest. There are other community members with an interest who may very well step up and declare shortly. 

  In my opinion, despite Todd Cowan's self destructive behaviour, he actually had an acceptable Council to work with. By that I mean generally good people albeit a couple maybe weren't the most committed to the job or the sharpest. I am not a fan overall of the current Council or Mayor for a plethora of reasons that I have elucidated here many times. That said in the spirit of fair play I will pat the 2014-18 Council on the back for their decision  to erect the Fish warning signs along the Canagagigue Creek downstream of the Uniroyal/Lanxess site. This was particularly worthy because the Ontario Ministry of Environment flatly refused to do so when asked by Woolwich Township. When they refused either Sandy or Council stepped up and those signs can be seen on the New Jerusalem Rd. bridge over the Creek as well as at Northfield Dr. and Jigs Hollow Rd. (West Montrose) where they cross the Creek. 

ONT. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT CORRUPTION, STUPIDITY, INCOMPETENCE OR SIMPLY PETTY AND MALICIOUS?

 Today's Waterloo Region record has the following front page story titled "It sounds like blatant discrimination". This is Part 3 of a series about a Toronto Star investigation into alleged medical driver license suspensions in Ontario. Two additional smaller headlines are "Ontarians stripped of licenses despite "doing everything right" and "It's ridiculous. They're serving more time than a drunk driver."

   Before continuing let me add that literally for decades I have referred to the Three Stooges of the Ontario government whether Liberal, Conservative or NDP (way back when)). Those three stooges were and are the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Transportation.  This is simply my opinion based upon close observation for at least the past 45 years. 

   This Toronto Star investigation has turned up hundreds if not thousands of simply idiotic license suspensions based upon the most frivolous of medical excuses. The examples are so egregious and so outrageous that I have to seriously ask whether somebody, somewhere is getting a kickback of either money or favours in return for Ontario drivers' names to have their drivers' licenses suspended. If not then the answer has to be pure, petty bureaucratic maliciousness in arbitrarily and frivolously removing citizens' driving licenses.

  My father-in-law Aden was one of the victims of the Ministry of Transportation corruption or whatever it was. They took his drivers' license away based upon a tiny paperwork error from an eye examination. That error was immediately corrected by the relevant optometrist and sent to the Min. of Transport. THREE YEARS later those bastards restored his improperly removed license only after he had repeatedly jumped through their hoops and loops including driving exams in Toronto and London if you can believe it. He had been driving both privately as well as commercially taking Old Order Mennonites around Ontario and even into the United States for many years. Not a single complaint, charge or ticket of any kind. Yet to save face after  totally screwing up, the Min. of Transport insisted upon all these additional, ridiculous bars that he had to jump over. Excuse me all to hell if I hold the Ontario Ministry of Transport in total contempt.