DIOXINS OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS

Remember everything you've read about Agent Orange. Remember everything you've read about the contaminant mixed in with it called Dioxin. Don't forget locations in Vietnam, Seveso Italy or Missouri in the United States. Here in Canada it was spread on the ground in New Brunswick at Gagetown. Northern Ontario used Agent Orange and similar compounds to clear brush and undergrowth along roads and railway tracks. Well folks it's here right in Elmira, in the ground and groundwater for the last seventy years or so. It's been a known health and environmental issue here in Elmira for decades and our authorities have talked until they're blue in the face. Then they've lied about it until they're blue in the face. Then they and Uniroyal/Chemtura have hired experts and consultants to assist them in their lying. This is the history and reality here in Elmira.

Thursday evening in Woolwich Council chambers we got more of the same. Cowardly also of historic proportions. Chemtura delayed and delayed from last summer both further testing but more importantly in releasing the results to CPAC and the public. Even then results that they've had since last fall weren't issued prior to the public CPAC meeting. No, instead they had their hired truth massager talk about three remediation optuons. I've had a brief opportunity to look at the Dioxin concentrations since Thursday night. They are thousands of times higher than human health standards yet if we are to believe Conestoga Rovers pitchman that's O.K.. A whole .3 metre (1 foot) of soil can be scraped up and or the area can be capped with a HDPE or high density polyethylene cover. Then there are the lesser remediation plans. What universe are these technical geeks and nerds from? The health effects of Agent orange in returning U.S. serviemen are well documented. They extend from the servicemen to their children and grandchildren, so far. One of the many lies is that the only recepters are trespassers and shrews.

It is not reassuring to me that while Dioxins can dissolve into groundwater albeit with difficulty, they are more readily transported by groundwater with solvents in it. Just like the Uniroyal/Chemtura site is loaded with. It is stunning to me that if we are to believe the bought and paid for experts; that Dioxins flow much better in groundwater from the west side into the Canagagigue Creek than they flow from the east side into the creek. This kind of horse manure has surrounded this site for decades and the least significance is that it brings disrepute to scientists who indulge in it.

BLATANT LIES AND MISINFORMATION

Last evening at the CPAC meeting, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (M.O.E.) handed out copies of the Press Release they issued on October 7, 1991 , announcing the Settlement Agreement between themselves and Uniroyal Chemical. Somehow they managed to hand it out while I was speaking and I didn't receive a copy. Fortunately copies were offerred to me today by other parties so I now know and understand a little more about how the master manipulaters (M.O.E.) continue to deny that the "sweetheart deal" was a secret. Yes they handed this Press Release out to the Media but not to UPAC, APT Environment membership or the general public either within or without Elmira. Hence this media Release was exactly that, a Media release not a public release. Secondly this media release is full of errors, misinformation and or blatant lies.

To be world class at offerring up alternative realities one must have no shame. This describes this document which I saw for the first time in my life, today. Let's go with one item which I would describe as a rare and startling truth. "Uniroyal's chemical manufacturing plant, which started its operations in 1941, is one of the sources of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in the Elmira area.". This is a startling admission which has been carefully and skillfully buried ever since. What possessed them to tell the truth in this Press release is beyond me.

"...and will begin the site cleanup immediately.". Poppycock. They didn't start the tiny DNAPL removal from RPW5 and TPW2 until the late fall of 1993. The two pits on the east side of the creek also didn't get going until nearly a year later.

"remove all wastes from buried pits on the property" :. First off all wastes were not in buried pits. Secondly although two pits were excavated they had been ordered by the Settlement Agreement and accompanying Amended Control Order before the Environmental Audit was done which identified other areas requiring remediation and or excavation.

"investigate the presence of NDMA in the former pond area and take appropriate remedial actions." The settlement Agreement spoke about investigating DNAPL (dense non aqueous phase liquids) not NDMA. Secondly the settlement Agreement ordered studies not remediation of the former pond area ie. west side ponds namely RPW5,6,7 & 8.

Once again the M.O.E. have pulled off a simple bait and switch. This Press Release served the purpose that the following Amended Control Order was to serve which was to pretend to be the significant document. Both the following Amended Control Order (Nov. 4/91) and the Press Release were fakes and phonies to distract attention from the real controlling document which was never released to the media or the public. They were dishonest documents intended to deceive the public and they suceeded for twenty-one years.

MAYOR COWAN RESIGNS

AS CPAC CHAIR...O.K. I admit I'm having way too much fun with the headline above. It is misleading and deceptive and I apologize. However at Thursday nite's first public CPAC meeting since last November, Mayor Cowan did the right thing and resigned as CPAC Interim Chair. He will be replaced as a CPAC member by Councillor Mark Bauman. The Chair's position was decided publicly by vote the way it should have been from the start. Dan Holt by concensus of the CPAC members is the new Chair. This sets an enormous and appropriate precedent for this new CPAC as they slowly gain control over their own process. Electing their own member to be Chair is a major step. I have had the privelege of getting to know Dan over the last year and have high hopes for his vision and understanding.

Most of the three hour CPAC meeting was a dog and pony show. By this I mean that Chemtura and the M.O.E. did their best to stall, bafflegab and run out the clock. They knew and were prepared for major battle in regards to the October 7, 1991 Settlement Agreement (sweetheart deal). This is especially interesting when you realize that this bilateral agreement between the M.O.E. and Uniroyal Chemical was not on the Agenda. The CPAC members patiently waited out the verbal trots until they came to New Business and then they struck. My hat is off to all of them. Also interestingly, for the first time since the new CPAC was chosen without a single member from the old CPAC, Susan Bryant was present as a member of the public. She was called upon by CPAC member Sebastian to assist with her recollection of the Settlement Agreement from twenty-one years ago. Although she expressed difficulties remembering much, she was sure that comments from the senior M.O.E. member present were not accurate. He had claimed that there were 28 meetings between the six parties to the ongoing Environmental Appeal Board hearings prior to Uniroyal and the M.O.E. signing their bilateral deal. Indeed this made no sense at all especially with the outrage expressed by the four other parties immediately after the M.O.E. and Uniroyal announced they'd come to an agreement. Susan categorically stated that APTE had not been present at any private group meetings with the parties to discuss a Settlement between Uniroyal and the M.O.E.. The M.O.E. then backed off and suggested that what they'd really meant was that there were 28 meetings, mostly individually not as a group and maybe there were two group meetings. Nice try M.O.E.. There were a number of other misleading comments and statements by the M.O.E. which I quite enjoyed deflating shortly afterwards.

Further to my dog and pony show comment I also spoke harshly to both Chemtura and the M.O.E. about their extreme discourtesy and disrespect towards the public and CPAC. They falsely claimed that they had distributed three reports perhaps a couple of hundred pages in length to CPAC and stakeholders on February 29/12. In reality I and others received these reports on March 21/12, eight days prior to the CPAC meeting. To have these Annual Monitoring Reports on the Agenda for discussion was beyond stupid. Chemtura also have been promising a report and a public meeting concerning the fugitive emissions of BLE-25 eighteen months ago (Sept./10). Well we got the report last night, out of the blue. Too little too late. The most disgusting and bizarre scenario however had to be the long overdue production of the GP1 and GP2 Dioxin Report. That came at 9:15 pm. after the meeting was over and after Chemtura had their consultants CRA do a presentation on their recommended remediation method. Outrageous and disgusting and I let them know that in no uncertain terms. This I will say about Chemtura and their buddies the Ontario M.O.E.. Through their condescending, disrespectful and arrogant behaviour, including not providing promised data and reports in a timely fashion, they have suceeded in revealing to CPAC their true character in a very short time frame.

There was more from last night including details of what CPAC member Sebastian suggested was Chemtura's choice of the cheapest Dioxin cleanup method. Vivienne was assertive and persistent as was Dan. Both Ron Campbell and David Marks provided excellent technical support. Special kudos to David Marks for attending shortly after sufferring a serious skiing accident. More to come in upcoming days on this public meeting.

THE PROBLEM WITH CPAC

It is 100% owned, operated, controlled and run by politicians. It has been under the Chairmanship of Woolwich Councillors past and present (Ruby Weber, Pat Mclean), Chemical Company managers (Sulco - Greg Pimento), a Mayor (Todd Cowan) . The Terms of Reference are a joke. They are also ignored at will by the Township. Today March 29, 2012 and we are having our first public CPAC meeting in four months. We had a Draft Agenda come out a week ago. It was revised in a meeting three days ago and as of right now there is NO AGENDA. What the hell are we talking about tonite ? CPAC is a Committee of Council with honest intelligent citizen representatives on it. They are capable of controlling their own process, so Woolwich Township Mayor, CAO and Clerk please get the hell off it.

Then we have the two parties who are supposed to be providing data, information and communication. They are less than pathetic. Their promises of forthcoming information are worthless. Chemtura and the M.O.E. have had lab results since early last fall concerning Dioxins, DDt and solvents at and near GP1 & GP2 on the south-east corner. CPAC and the public were promised them LAST FALL ! The Ontario M.O.E. have new and old groundwater monitoring results for both former Varnicolor Chemical sites. I and CPAC were promised those LAST FALL. NOTHING! The list of lies and broken promises goes on and on. How surprising that Chemtura AGAIN have failed to achieve a reverification with their industry peer group (CIAC). Chemtura are a rogue company "monitored" by a hypocritical, corrupt Ministry of the provincial government.

Then we get to the regional government. Yes twenty-two and a half years ago they stepped into the breech. The Region of Waterloo hired groundwater experts and pursued both the M.O.E. and Uniroyal/Chemtura. While they appropriately criticized the October 7, 1991 "sweetheart deal" as well as the followup November 4, 1991 Amended Control Order, surprisingly they said nothing about the Release/Indemnity given to Uniroyal by the M.O.E.. Why not? Were they promised goodies if they played nice? Did the Province of Ontario promise them cash plus a water pipeline if they kept several things secret? To this day the Region have not told the public about this Indemnity and they have actively campaigned with Chemtura and the M.O.E. in support of the lie that Uniroyal was the sole contributer to the destruction of the Elmira aquifer.

How possibly can honest citizens essentially without resources combat professional liars? All three levels of government; provincial, regional and municipal have and are lying to the people who pay the freight, namely us. The least guilty government body so far is the new Woolwich Council. Unfortunately they appear willing to delegate the CPAC file without their full oversight. This error will bite them sooner than later. CPAC have been thrown to the wolves and are surrounded by liars. If there are citizens out there who believe we should have our own Aquifers restored then you need to become involved. The year 2028 is one more big lie being pushed by the M.O.E., Chemtura, the Region and the Province. Not one chance in a million of it happening folks.

LAST NIGHT'S COUNCIL MEETING - BIO FUEL & CHEMTURA

Woolwich Mayor Todd Cowan claimed last evening at the start of the Woolwich Council meeting that he was "shocked" that the Ministry of the Environment (M.O.E.) had approved the Elmira location for Woolwich Bio-En. I was not shocked and I don't have the in with the provincial government that Mayor Cowan claims to have. Our Mayor also suggested that all signs and indications over the past year had been positive from the M.O.E.. Really? Are you suggesting duplicity Mayor Cowan on the part of the M.O.E.? Now I am really shocked. Haven't you been listening to what I've been telling you for nearly two years? Well before the election you came to me for advice regarding Chemtura and the M.O.E. and I told you that the M.O.E. were in bed together with polluters and industry. Honest citizens rights and health were of little consequence to them.

Despite my skepticism I did sincerely thank Woolwich Council at the start of my presentation for their stated interest in pursuing an appeal of the M.O.E.'s Decision. Council want a legal opinion as to whether they have any grounds to sucessfully launch an appeal with the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT). Let me be the first to say this. There are a number of different members just as with their predecessor the Environmental Appeal Board (EAB). Some are good, qualified and unbiased persons. Others are unqualified toadies who do as they are told. The question is who will be doing the assigning and what are the politics behind the big picture regarding renewable energy in Ontario. From my strong opinion here yes you can believe that I have attended and been involved in several of these appeals and have seen excellent to horrible Boards and Tribunals.

In regards to Chemtura I primarily spoke about the October 7, 1991 "sweetheart deal". That document as I advised Council last evening has been referred to CPAC as a gamechanger by two environmental professionals. The M.O.E. and their partner in pollution Chemtura, have said otherwise in the Woolwich Observer. Oh what a surprise! Kudos to Councillor Bauman for releasing a letter to CPAC which indicates that two polluters (Nutrite & Chemtura), three governments (municipal, regional & provincial) and one private individual all received copies of the Settlement Agreement (sweetheart deal) twenty-one years ago. Despite tiny leaks and dribbles all six parties to the 1990/91 Environmental Appeal Board hearings kept silent about the Indemnity given to Uniroyal by the Ontario M.O.E.. Shame on the lot of them!

BIO-FUEL CITIZENS SOLD OUT

Welcome to the real world Elmira. This is the sleepy little town that the Ontario M.O.E. love to lie to. They've done it again. Read here in the Advocate (via the archives on the right) Friday January 27, 2012. The information I had received from within the Bio-Energy group was that the location was and had been a done deal for months. And that was last January. The BFCC group appropriately tried to get confirmation from their contact within the M.O.E.. That contact kept beating around the bush and avoiding the question until BFCC member Dan Holt backed him into a corner. At that point the M.O.E. engineer did admit that location was the perogative of the proponent. Well that's all I needed to here. Allegedly you folks get fifteen days to appeal. Let me see now, you've been playing by the rules for how many years now? You have clearly articulated your concerns to the appropriate authorities. Sure follow through with an appeal if you want. Pretty soon now you will realize that the entire process is a sham. The rules from the beginning are in favour of the proponent and that's no accident. All the rest is windowdressing and make believe public consultation. There is a way to stop BIO-En but it's not by following somebody else's rules.

INDUSTRY & GOVERNMENT PARTNERS IN POLLUTION

There will be at least two opportunities this week for the public to come out and listen to the sad story of local polluter/government partnerships. Tonite at Woolwich Council (7 pm.) I will be a Delegate and will be discussing the October 1991 Settlement Agreement between the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (M.O.E.) and Uniroyal/Chemtura. Then Thursday evening (6 pm.) will finally be the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) which has been delayed since last fall. The Agenda is already full and there are still many items that should have been clarified and discussed months ago. Quite frankly what I would like to see is the backlog caught up by more frequent meetings over the next few months. What has been apparent to me for some time is that polluters can not sucessfully bafflegab and deflect the public's outrage without professional help. That professional help are politicians. They are there to serve the interests of industry including the polluters. The M.O.E. have long been a buffer, an insulator and a protecter of polluting industry. They literally collect data, write reports and act as public relations tools for polluting industry.