Wednesday, October 12, 2016

REVIEW TIME: HOW & WHY DID CHEMTURA EXCAVATE THE WRONG LOCATION FOR GP1




First of all this information was not known prior to 2014 AFTER GP2 was simply covered over and GP1 primarily excavated all of one foot deep (.3 metre). At the north end of GP1 there was a much deeper excavation (2.5 metre-8') based upon findings in the field of deeper contamination. There were also three supplementary deeper excavations after that. The location of these deeper excavations are crucial in that they start right below the gap in the high ground (ridge) that blocks the bulk of Uniroyal's waste waters from flowing due south into the purported GP1 area. Conestoga Rovers released topographical maps along with their GP1 & 2 reports that I found odd. They showed a very low lying area off the Chemtura site immediately east of their property line. This area corresponded with the swampy, wet area including the manmade Drain that I found on the Stroh property. Their topographical lines amazingly ended (disappeared) when approaching the Chemtura/Stroh property line as if that would somehow decrease their credibility. Strange?

Conestoga Rovers borrowed the location of GP1 & 2 from maps published in the 1985 "History of Uniroyal Wastes" written by Jackman and Ralston of the M.O.E. along with Tony Smith of the GRCA. This map is dated 1983 and both Conestoga Rovers (CRA) and CH2MHILL misplaced the location of GP1 in subsequent publications of their own. Those two parties actually misplaced the location of GP1 differently. While the 1983 map and 1985 report had GP1 on the north-east side of the high ridge of land (in a low lying area), CH2MHILL placed GP1 ON TOP OF the ridge which would have made it impossible for Uniroyal's massive volumes of waste waters to flow into GP1. CRA however did one better by placing GP1 on the south-west side of the diagonal ridge in a low lying area. The problem of course was in getting the waste waters to CRA's location. Fortunately there appears to be a small gap in the natural ridge which would allow at least a small proportion of the waste waters from the north-east pits to flow into CRA's location. Whether this small gap is natural or manmade I do not currently know. While it is shown on CRA's topographical map oddly it does not show up on the M.O.E.s 100 year floodplain map. That map clearly shows that the ridge is continuous.

Why put GP1 in a different location? One it is much further away from the neighbouring Stroh property thus reducing the likelihood that a citizen activist (moi) would make the connection and understand the significance. Two there would be a much smaller volume of contamination required for excavation if and when GP1 was remediated. Three if and when the Stroh Drain (approx. 1985) was publicly discovered (moi in 2014) it would appear less likely that it's purpose was to help drain and dispose of the grossly contaminated low lying areas on both sides of the Uniroyal/Stroh property line.

The question is how much was the Ontario Ministry of the Environment involved in these wrongdoings? Are they incredibly incompetent and stupid as allegedly George Karlos's (M.O.E.) walk through the area in 2013 would indicate? He claimed he saw no pathway for contaminants to flow into the downstream Martin swimming pond. He failed to mention the existence of a surface water body running parallel to Chemtura's property line, past the Martin pond and then into the "Gig". In fact there is a pipe diverting part of the Stroh Drain directly into the Martin Pond. Did the Ontario M.O.E. collude directly with Uniroyal and then Chemtura to coverup this off-site flow of toxic Uniroyal wastewaters onto farmland and then into the Canagagigue Creek further downstream? When will there be a public inquiry into the Ontario Ministry of Environment's dealings with Uniroyal, Crompton and Chemtura?

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