OCCASIONAL GLIMMERS OF LIGHT BETWEEN THE STORM CLOUDS

Don't get me wrong here. The powers of influence and money are unabated. As long as there is money to be made legally while lying like dogs, then that unfortunate norm will continue. The almost constant lying over the last 36 years represents the storm clouds in the above title and the glimmer of light are various individuals and groups who still have an interest in the issue.  Ahh human nature isn't it sometimes perverted especially when we can justify our dishonesty by telling ourselves that with every lie we are solidifying our families financial base.

Of course in a better labour market we would have a better choice between good jobs and those that require way too much employer loyalty.  Some employers may talk up the teamwork aspect and or the us versus them  mentality whether "them" is the competition, customers, officials or regulators. I suppose if it is put to you that telling the truth and the whole truth could seriously damage the company, then perhaps a compromise is necessary. Eventually of course it's all about "compromises" never about lies.

I seriously doubt that any corporation would actually hold a "liars recognition night" dinner and award presentations for their employees. Plain talk like that really must be kept between senior management and ownership to avoid any chance of a scandal. Corporations want their cake and to be able to eat it too. Here in Elmira Uniroyal Chemical, Crompton & Knowles, Chemtura and now Lanxess want as much credit as they can get for spending as little money as possible to clean up their mess. In fact if you can believe it they are now telling the public that remediation of aquifers and surface water can be environmentally harmful. Allegedly this includes high pumping rates (excess electricity useage) as well as ecological disturbances in attempts to remove contaminated Creek sediments.  

More sunshine and less storm clouds please.

 

SLIMEY, GREASY, DEVIOUS - EVERYTHING A WORLD CLASS POLLUTER WANTS IN A CONSULTANT?

 

I guess way back in 1989 I should have started a file titled "Slimey, Greasy & Devious". By now it would be full of (mis)interpretations, (biased) opinions, (shaky) positions and (sketchy) conclusions written by various consultants to Uniroyal, Crompton, Chemtura and Lanxess.  I have long ago lost count of how many times Conestoga Rovers for example have decided to write something in their reports that instead of clarifying anything, it merely succeeded in making a cloudy area even darker and harder to understand.

The term client driven has been bandied about just about since the first report was written. The whole idea of the preponderance of evidence is a joke. Client driven consultants ignore well known hydrogeological rules and understandings and routinely hang their hats on some tiny anomaly or minor contradiction. Of course they fluff it up, maximize its' alleged weight and proceed in their report as if their shoddy interpretation was handed down by God himself. Similarly if there is any evidence that points to a serious (i.e. expensive) environmental problem then they happily throw out the baby with the bath water. That serious evidence allegedly is outweighed by any possible ifs, ands or maybes. The consultants will search for precedents, they will search for sketchy explanations to provide cover for their clients. They will embrace and enhance the old joke (?) about the CIA always looking for "plausible deniability" such as Oh no we didn't kill that country's leader, we were attending our child's birthday party that day. 

Allan Deal of GHD presented a pile of rubbish called "Chlorobenzene Source Evaluation" just over a year ago to TRAC. He constantly conflated chlorinated solvents and chlorobenzene. He did this both verbally and in writing. Maps he produced for example might be titled "Review of historic chlorobenzene users" only to have the legend at the bottom of the map be referring to either Halogenated solvent users or chlorinated solvent users. All in all very deceptive and likely intentional. The other interpretation is just plain incompetence. 

Other Figures such as the one on page 5 titled "Chlorobenzene Concentrations vs. Time purport to show the concentration difference of chlorobenzene between an on-site pumping well (PW4) and an off-site pumping well namely W4 .  We were advised by Mr. Deal that this graph clearly indicated that the on-site well (PW4)  was located immediately beside formerly free phase DNAPL that over time has become residual DNAPL .The off-site well with somewhat lower concentrations according to Mr. Deal had over time via pumping increased the dissolution of the residual DNAPL such that it was now gone.

Mr. Deal of course failed to explain both pumping slowdowns as well as pumping stoppages in off-site well W4. Furthermore he failed to indicate that on-site pumping well PW4 was solely pumping in the Municipal Upper Aquifer whereas off-site well W4 was pumping in both the Municipal Upper and the Municipal Lower Aquifers resulting in significant dilution and reduction of the chlorobenzene concentrations.

This has been the norm of the quality of consultants' reports on behalf of Uniroyal and successors over the decades. If they were facing an honest and competent regulator (Min. of Environment) then their literary bulls*it would go nowhere. However when your regulator is cozily snuggling with you under the covers then the least they can do is rubberstamp your consultants' reports as "A - O.K.". 

HOW ARE THE POLLUTER, THE MINISTRY (MOE/MECP) & WOOLWICH TWN. GETTING AWAY WITH THEIR PAST LYING NOW ?

 

Firstly it was easier before they were caught. Now they've been outed not just by myself but by Lanxess, GHD and Arcadis Inc. (Jesse Wright). Secondly they were very quiet about their revelations. So quiet that they nearly flew under the radar which is exactly what they hoped would happen. Afterall I haven't been attending TRAC meetings either in person or by Zoom. Instead I watch the videos on the Township's website a few days later. Who knows maybe the swine have been laying low just waiting for me to either croak or fade away into oblivion. Not yet you pack of lying pis*ants. 

Also there is no one honest at TRAC with serious, local, environmental knowledge going back before 2011 (i.e. Sebastian). No I certainly am not accidentally omitting Susan Bryant. TRAC can and are led around by the nose despite some smart people on the committee. 

Of course if Lanxess and GHD were completely straight forward they would now clarify and comment about how the misinformation surrounding DNAPLS by W4 and OW57-32R came to be. It was Uniroyal/Chemtura's consultants Conestoga Rovers (CRA) who first claimed DNAPL presence very quietly and then when I did find the data they covered it up with all kinds of techno babble and bullsh*t. Unfortunately the Ministry of Environment and their hydrogeologist Jaimie Connelly also got into the picture suggesting that acetone was the culprit for higher solubility of chlorobenzene, not DNAPLS. 

The extent of Varnicolor's contamination of the Elmira drinking water aquifers has also recently come to light as well as the alleged six to eight companies nearby Varnicolor who handled chlorobenzene back in the day and maybe even currently. Awfully convenient not telling us about that until 2025.

Again by refusing the public the right to speak at TRAC meetings whether verbal Delegations or even questions, they have shut down public consultation except for hand picked, nice, pleasant and deferential folks who won't say sh*t if their mouths are full of it. 

MY PREDICTION AS TO WHEN (OR IF) THE ELMIRA AQUIFERS WILL BE RESTORED TO DRINKING WATER CAPABILITY

 

There are a number of answers based upon politics, public acceptance and technical standards i.e. ODWS- Ontario Drinking Water Standards. Politically will be all about the proposed Lake Erie Pipeline. Will getting our drinking water from highly polluted Lake Erie fly versus serious cleanup of our currently polluted aquifers in southern Ontario? Heck will it even fly with the United States? If that idiot Donald Trump or anyone vaguely related to him is the President then all bets are off. He'd rather invade us then share Lake Erie water with us.

Public acceptance here in Elmira and Waterloo Region over ever drinking water from the Elmira Aquifers could be a hard sell. Everybody knows about DDT and Dioxins in the Canagagigue Creek and they assume, rightly or wrongly, that they are also in our groundwater. Furthermore I believe that our citizens and residents have lost faith and confidence, rightfully so, in our provincial government and our Ministry of Environment. Just because they suggest that the Elmira Aquifers will someday be restored just doesn't cut it anymore. Especially as they are just about ready to blow past the first mandated deadline of 2028.

Lastly we have technical standards. Oh boy we have a ton of credentialed experts hired by world class polluters and these "experts" will give you their client's opinions for big bucks. I have no doubt that within a few years of selective sampling by compound/chemicals , by location within the aquifers and by even adjusted health standards that some of these twits will proclaim the aquifers safe to drink. Now keep in mind they advised Elmira folks for twenty years prior to the alleged discovery of NDMA that Elmira's water was safe. It was not plus it stunk and tasted crappy. 

All in all I have seen  zero honest and serious intent to date to properly remediate the Elmira Aquifers. I'm not saying that it can not ever happen but that it will take major changes in honesty, personnel involved, public awareness  and more to ever occur.

EXACTLY HOW BLATANT WAS VARNICOLOR CHEMICAL'S POLLUTION?

 

Three incidents come to mind namely General Motors revelations about Varnicolor in the Globe & Mail written by Jock Ferguson, followed by Digger Dave Holmes discovery of solvents floating on the water table on the 62 Union St. site and lastly the panic and alarm that resulted from my opening a tupperware container filled with Lot 91 soil inside the Elmira Fire hall on Howard Ave. 

The first incident occurred in the mid to late 1980s after General Motors were tipped off that barrels with their name on the labels were sitting and rusting in an open field in Elmira which was Varnicolor's infamous Lot 91 at the east end of Oriole Parkway beside Landfill Creek and it's discharge into the Canagagigue Creek. The M.O.E. ordered Varnicolor to take those barrels up to their Union St. site (out of sight) where they then sat on the ground uncovered there as well. 

The second incident occurred in the summer of 1989 when the gentleman involved was hired to dig a trench for a minor construction project on the Varnicolor site. A few feet below ground surface he was shocked to see/smell subsurface solvents flowing into the hole .  He reported it to both Varnicolor and the M.O.E. both of whom were satisfied to simply fill in the hole and forget about it.

Thirdly in the summer 1990 or 91 we had a meeting of the Varnicolor Liason Committee at the firehall where Rich Clausi and I asked the Ministry of Environment (M.O.E.)  about dozens of barrels with lids filled with soil that they had excavated from Lot 91. They advised us that oh the soils were not a big deal and merely had minor solvent contamination in them. At that point I advised that Richard and I had taken samples from a specific marked barrel, put a specific dated coin into the barrel and resealed the lid. Ministry personnel present scoffed at that claim until I reached under the table and pulled out my tupperware container. As I lifted the lid and awful odours engulfed the room the M.O.E. folks were the first ones out the door running for their lives. They knew exactly how bad and for how long the dumping had been going on on that site.

In hindsight the only reason that Uniroyal, Varnicolor and Ministry personnel got away with as much as they did regarding the Elmira crisis was because of the two plants (i.e. helpers) they had within APT Environment pretty much from the beginning. 

SO WILL OUR AUTHORITIES EVENTUALLY ADMIT TO LYING ABOUT THE STROH FARM THE WAY THEY HAVE RECENTLY DONE SO REGARDING DNAPLS & CHLOROBENZENE?

 

That is anybody's guess. Sure the chief liars have either retired or stepped back at Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura and especially at the MECP.  Representing Lanxess and GHD there are two with a history namely Lou Almeida and Allan Deal. Mr. Deal's history is much worse than Lou's although Lou does seem to be attempting to catch up with his Stroh farm nonsense. 

I am confident that councillor and TRAC Chair Nathan Cadeau along with Tiffany Svensson and mayor Sandy Shantz will soon realize that all their manipulation, deception and just plain blatant  and willful blindness and deafness on the subject will not fly.  Unfortunately for them I am a team player and made certain over a decade ago that a number of local citizens were fully aware of the situation on the Stroh farm.. That situation also applies to the Martin farm immediately south of the Stroh farm with the migration of contamination being both directly from Uniroyal (southern property line) as well as indirectly through the Stroh property and the SDDB (Stroh Drain, Ditch & Berm). 

What limited evidence there is due to Chemtura/Lanxess's refusals to do even a half hearted investigation with serious soil, ground and surface water sampling (in the ditch) supports the likelihood of serious contamination including dioxins and DDT migrating off-site. The Mickey Mouse investigation along the property line between Lanxess and the Stroh farm speaks volumes. Soil sampling was only fifteen to twenty metres onto the Stroh farm and the soil sampling extended to a whopping 15 centimetres or 5.9 inches in depth. WHAT A JOKE !  Nevertheless the contamination was serious enough all these decades later to require removal. 

One of the key pieces of evidence is the topographical maps showing that the lowest ground elevation is on the Stroh farm to the immediate east of Lanxess's south-east corner. In other words all the admitted gravity flowing toxic liquid wastes from Uniroyal's overflowing east side pits had to go somewhere and most of that somewhere was not into on-site GP-1 & 2 . It was onto the Stroh property as well as the adjoining Martin  property. Lanxess have intentionally been muddying the waters to the best of their abilities for years on this matter. 

Fess up Lanxess! And then clean up or else the Creek will never be safe or healthy.

SO WHY HAS THE MECP NOT TOLD THE PUBLIC DETAILS ABOUT THE OFF-SITE DNAPL ?

 

Let's see that would include the OW57-32R and W4 DNAPL by the Howard St. water tower as well as the on the Varnicolor site DNAPL consisting of trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, dichloroethene  and more. Then of course there is also the likely off-site DNAPL from Uniroyal that flowed over to the Nutrite/Yara property consisting of chlorobenzene, mercaptobenzothiazole, carboxin etc. There could also be DNAPL from any of the six to eight properties which used chlorobenzene recently identified by Jesse Wright of Arcadis Inc. near First, Union and Howard Ave.. 

Now the details required by the public would include the exact location, the depth, what stratagraphic unit they are in, the estimated mass plus as many of the components as possible. Confirmation as to whether it is still free phase DNAPL or whether it has spread out under gravity to the point that it has been reduced to residual DNAPL or not would also be helpful. This is the kind of data and evidence that must be given to the public so that they and any alleged representatives at TRAC can do their jobs properly.

This data would have resulted in citizens both on and off any alleged citizen committees being able to quickly point out years ago to Dr. Neil Thompson (U. of Waterloo)  where the excess 2,000 kilograms of dissolved chlorobenzene originated from. Clearly he was kept in the dark by Chemtura during his efforts to write up a worthy and professional Conceptual Site Model (CSM) versus what the first TAG Chair (Dr. Richard Jackson) described as nothing more than a cartoon that Conestoga Rovers had done.

All in all we've had just about 34 years (Jan. 1992-2026)  of intentional mushroom treatment of our alleged public consultation. This has of course consisted of keeping them in the dark and covered in bullsh*t. The guiltiest bodies include Uniroyal, Crompton, Chemtura, Lanxess and the M.O.E./MECP. Honourable mention goes to Woolwich Township especially for the efforts of Mark Bauman and Sandy Shantz in September 2015.