{"id":4806,"date":"2015-06-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/koch-industries-pollution\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T07:44:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:44:42","slug":"koch-industries-pollution","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/climate\/climate-deniers\/koch-industries\/koch-industries-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Koch Industries Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"p4subtitle\">Koch and the environment<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"p4descriptive_paragraph\">Koch Industries is a major polluter, with ongoing incidents and violations of environmental laws. Even when complying with the law, Koch companies can get away with heavy pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"leader\">Evidence published by Mother Jones senior editor Daniel Schulman in <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Sons-Wichita-Brothers-Americas-Powerful\/dp\/1455518735\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Sons of Wichita<\/em><\/a>, the first biography on the Koch family, includes accusations from former Koch employees that violations of environmental law were systematic up to the highest levels of management. Koch\u2019s resistance to federal investigations of environmental violations went as far as spying on federal officials involved in lawsuits against Koch. In discussions of possibly making Koch a publicly-traded company, a lawyer for Koch warned that taking the public would land all of Koch\u2019s executives and board members in jail.<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>A Koch-owned cellulose facility in Taylor County Florida was responsible for two successive <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/greenpeaceblogs.org\/2014\/06\/11\/koch-facility-leaked-big-green-cloud-deadly-chlorine-gas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/greenpeaceblogs.org\/2014\/06\/11\/koch-facility-leaked-big-green-cloud-deadly-chlorine-gas\/\">chlorine dioxide chemical leaks<\/a> in May, 2014.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/10\/30\/smithville-texas-oil-spill_n_4177503.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Koch Pipeline Company spilled 17,000 gallons of crude oil<\/a> (400 barrels) near Austin Texas in October, 2013. A road had to be built to access the spill site for cleanup, which <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/climate\/2013\/10\/30\/2859041\/texas-koch-pipeline-spill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contaminated livestock ponds<\/a>. Months before the spill, <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kochind.com\/Operations_Excellence\/Awards.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Koch Pipeline was gifted<\/a> it\u2019s second annual \u201cEnvironmental Performance Award\u201dfrom the American Petroleum Institute, the top U.S. oil and gas lobbying organization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Subsidiaries of Koch Carbon have accumulated massive piles of petroleum coke in U.S. cities like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JDGb2_FQO8M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Detroit<\/a> and <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.midwestenergynews.com\/2014\/02\/28\/video-toxic-waste-in-the-windy-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chicago<\/a>, where the toxic dust has <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131024061557\/http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/watch\/shows\/live-news\/2013\/10\/carcinogenic-oilbyproductcoatschicagohomes.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blown into peoples\u2019 homes<\/a> from a 5-story-tall pile of petcoke. <a class=\"pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/priceofoil.org\/content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/OCI.Petcoke.FINALSCREEN.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Petcoke<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0a byproduct of refining tar sands that is usually burned like coal. Petcoke, which is more carbon-intensive than coal, is typically exported and burned in other countries with little to no air or climate regulations. While Detroit\u2019s mayor <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.freep.com\/article\/20130813\/NEWS01\/308130140\/Detroit-mayor-orders-pet-coke-piles-to-be-removed-by-August-27http:\/\/www.midwestenergynews.com\/2013\/10\/14\/first-it-was-detroit-now-petkoch-piling-up-in-chicago\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ordered Koch to move its petcoke pile<\/a>, Chicago regulators and politicians have not acted with the same urgency despite sustained local <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.midwestenergynews.com\/2014\/04\/17\/southeast-chicago-residents-take-petcoke-fight-to-the-streets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">protests<\/a>\u00a0from <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/1487460338146743\/?ref=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">community members<\/a>, <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.midwestenergynews.com\/2014\/05\/14\/in-chicago-nurses-take-up-fight-against-petcoke-piles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nurses<\/a>,\u00a0and<a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nrdc.org\/media\/2014\/140428.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">threats of lawsuits<\/a> from environmental groups. In response, Koch <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/chicagoist.com\/2014\/06\/11\/koch_brothers_company_agrees_to_con.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">claims<\/a> it will <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/peoriapublicradio.org\/post\/petcoke-company-makes-changes-after-violations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">add protections<\/a> to its unlined pile, which could take two years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Facing \u201cenormous\u201d cleanup costs for soil and groundwater contamination and high crude oil prices,\u00a0<strong>Flint Hills announced in 2014 that it would permanently\u00a0<a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/2014-02-05\/flint-hills-north-pole-refinery-shutting-amid-enormous-costs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">close its North Pole refinery<\/a>\u00a0outside of Fairbanks, Alaska<\/strong>. Koch blames contamination on the refinery\u2019s previous owner, Williams Companies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Ongoing, permitted releases of hazardous chemicals including benzene, sulfuric acid, hydrogen cyanide from\u00a0<a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.texasobserver.org\/kochworld\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.texasobserver.org\/kochworld\/\">Koch\u2019s oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas<\/a>, where refinery communities experience high rates of illnesses known to be associated with the chemicals released.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Millions of gallons of\u00a0<a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.southernstudies.org\/2011\/10\/koch-industries-plant-linked-to-cancer-epidemic-in-arkansas-community-video.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.southernstudies.org\/2011\/10\/koch-industries-plant-linked-to-cancer-epidemic-in-arkansas-community-video.html\">toxic paper mill waste from Koch-owned Georgia-Pacific facility<\/a>\u00a0in Crossett, Arkansas. A 2011 <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peer.org\/news\/news-releases\/2011\/03\/16\/koch-paper-mill-profits-from-weak-pollution-regulation--\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">complaint<\/a> to regional and national Environmental Protection Agency offices, filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and Ouachita Riverkeeper, alleged that Koch\u2019s plant was \u201cDischarging 45 million gallons per day of paper-mill waste, including ammonia and chloride, and metals such as zinc, copper, and mercury.\u201d The EPA <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bastropenterprise.com\/article\/20110602\/News\/306029985\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dismissed<\/a> the complaint on the grounds that Koch\u2019s pollution was permitted. PEER and Ouachita <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.peer.org\/news\/news-releases\/2011\/03\/16\/koch-paper-mill-profits-from-weak-pollution-regulation--\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">noted<\/a> that, \u201cKoch Industries has persuaded the State of Arkansas to issue the Georgia-Pacific mill a permit that in essence removes water quality standards for the creek, on the self-fulfilling grounds that it can never be restored to a biologically viable stream.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2009, the US Justice Department and EPA announced in 2009 that Koch Industries\u2019<a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/wichita.bizjournals.com\/wichita\/stories\/2009\/04\/13\/daily13.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Invista subsidiary would pay a $1.7 million penalty and spend $500 million<\/a> to fix environmental violations at facilities in seven states, in an agreement with the <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/yosemite.epa.gov\/opa\/admpress.nsf\/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d\/1e9d18f061b4da818525759700632926!OpenDocument\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">US EPA and Department of Justice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In May 2001, Koch Industries paid <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110306213748\/http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/stories\/2000\/11\/27\/60II\/main252545.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$25 million to settle with the US Government<\/a> over a long-standing suit brought by Bill Koch \u2013 one of the brothers bought out in 1983 \u2013 for the company\u2019s long-standing practice of <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com\/2014\/10\/28\/money-koch-bros-stole-tribes-could-swing-mid-term-elections-157542\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">illegally removing oil from federal and Indian lands<\/a>. The value of oil that brother Bill Koch accused Koch Industries of stealing was worth $133 million \u2013 over $255 million in 2014 dollars.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In late 2000, the company was charged with covering up the illegal releases of 91 tons of the known carcinogen benzene from its refinery in Corpus Christi. Initially facing a 97-count indictment and potential fines of $350 million, Koch cut a deal with then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to drop all major charges in exchange for a guilty plea for falsifying documents, and a $20 million settlement. Informing the federal case, a former Koch employee blew the whistle on the company for allegedly <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.texasobserver.org\/kochworld\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">falsifying its emissions reports<\/a>, downplaying the amounts of toxic chemicals it released.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2000, the EPA fined Koch Industries $30 million for its role in <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/yosemite.epa.gov\/opa\/admpress.nsf\/016bcfb1deb9fecd85256aca005d74df\/981d17e5ab07246f8525686500621079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">300 oil spills<\/a> that resulted in more than three million gallons of crude oil leaking into ponds, lakes, streams and coastal waters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In 1999 a <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/yosemite.epa.gov\/opa\/admpress.nsf\/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d\/eae2020401d0bf098525689d00713ea5!OpenDocument\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Koch subsidiary pleaded guilty<\/a> to charges that it had negligently allowed aviation fuel to leak into waters near the Mississippi River from its refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, and that it had illegally dumped a million gallons of high-ammonia wastewater onto the ground and into the Mississippi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Koch\u2019s negligence toward environmental safety has led to tragic losses of life. In 1996, a <a class=\"pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ntsb.gov\/Publictn\/1998\/PAR9802S.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rusty Koch pipeline<\/a> leaked flammable butane near a Texas residential neighborhood. Warned by the smell of gas, two teenagers drove their truck toward the nearest payphone to call for help, but they never made it.\u00a0 Sparks from their truck ignited the gas cloud and the two burned alive. The <a class=\"pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ntsb.gov\/Publictn\/1998\/PAR98025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Transportation Safety Board determined<\/a> that \u201cthe probable cause of this accident was the failure of Koch to adequately protect its pipeline from corrosion\u201d and the ineffectiveness of Koch\u2019s program to educate local residents about how to respond during a pipeline leak.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The inability of Koch companies to avoid pollution incidents stands in contrast with Charles Koch\u2019s \u201c<a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kochind.com\/MBM\/guiding_principles.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Guiding Principles<\/a>\u201d of his trademarked corporate management theory, \u201cMarket-Based Management,\u201d which states, \u201cStrive for 10,000% compliance with all laws and regulations, which requires 100% of employees fully complying 100% of the time.\u201d This also excludes from consideration the ways in which Koch is permitted to legally pollute.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also PolluterWatch profiles of <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/polluterwatch.com\/koch-industries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Koch Industries<\/a>, <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/polluterwatch.com\/charles-koch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charles Koch<\/a> and <a class=\"zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/polluterwatch.com\/david-koch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Koch<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Koch Industries is a major polluter, with ongoing incidents and violations of environmental laws. Even when complying with the law, Koch companies can get away with heavy pollution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":6756,"parent":4829,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_hide_page_title_checkbox":"","p4_title":"","p4_subtitle":"","p4_description":"","background_image_id":"","background_image":"","p4_button_title":"","p4_button_link":"","p4_button_link_checkbox":"","p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4806","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-campaign"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v23.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Koch Industries Pollution - Greenpeace<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/climate\/climate-deniers\/koch-industries\/koch-industries-pollution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Koch Industries Pollution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Koch Industries is a major polluter, with ongoing incidents and violations of environmental laws. 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