DECADES OF GOVERNMENT "OVERSIGHT" WASTED

I have for many years been referring to the "cleanup" of the Elmira Aquifers as a "sham". I have been essentially stating that the entire plan is simply a smokescreen of minimal cost to the company in order to avoid a real, permanent and effective cleanup. Although the final conclusion in not yet written it appears as if I was right albeit with provisos. The provisos are that indeed a significant quantity of chemicals have been removed from the off-site aquifers, the plumes are shrinking in size and the dissolved concentrations have been reduced. That said the plumes are still huge and the responsible parties have admitted that they won't make Ontario Drinking Water Standards by 2028.

Back in the spring of 2012 the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) passed a Resolution in accordance with a consultant's (Dr. Gail Krantburg) report that advised that pump & treat technology as currently underway could not possibly restore the Elmira drinking water aquifers to drinking water standards by 2028. This resolution was endorsed by Woolwich Council and passed on to the Ministry of Environment, regional government and all local parties.

Six months later Chemtura and Conestoga Rovers came up with a new plan. It entailed tripling the pumping rates off the Chemtura site and in the Elmira aquifers as well as using In Situ Chemical Oxidation in some off-site hot spots. This now was supposed to seal the deal and the 2028 commitment. Well four years later and before Chemtura are even ready to start the increased pumping, guess what? They and their new consultants (GHD) who bought out Conestoga Rovers, have determined that golly gosh they aren't going to be able to suceed by 2028. It turns out there are all kinds of technical problems limiting the amount they can pump both to their current wells and to their proposed new wells. Isn't that embarassing?

The bottom line is that Uniroyal/Chemtura with full support from the M.O.E. and almost every Woolwich Council since 1989 haven't remotely been on top of this cleanup. They have made errors and wrong assumptions galore while cheerfully ignoring, it turns out in hindsight, excellent advice from involved citizens for years. Meanwhile these same liars and idiots are still in charge while the M.O.E. continue to abandon their mandate and detroy their own reputation. Serves them right for being in bed with money, power and influence for so long.