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Racket-busting State Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a civil suit against KCBX Terminals to stop clouds of windblown toxic air pollution from open piles of petroleum coke (Petcoke, an oil refinery byproduct) that are polluting nearby residential neighborhoods. “Dirty Dave,” “Chucky G,” and “Wild Bill,” the secretive Koch (pronounced Coke) Brothers, who run an international petcoke trafficking ring, are the shot-callers behind the privately-owned KCBX terminals.
The Koch brothers escaped prison sentences after a 97-count criminal indictment in Texas in 2000 against their enterprises and employees for benzene pollution, but have paid over $400 million in fines for various environmental rackets and other violations from 1999 to 2006.
The Koch Cartel, also known among their shadowy underworld associates as the “Kochtopus,” are infamous for their special blend of Petcoke known as “PetKoch.”
The Kochtopus somehow gained control of a company previously known as “DTE,” which had handled bulk materials at two sites on the Chicago waterfront for almost 60 years.
But after KCBX took over and sought a new air pollution permit in 2011, its neighbors angrily objected, charging that the terminal was already discharging odious clouds of black dust into the neighborhoods. KCBX also used large diesel-fired engines to power much of its equipment, pumping another 100 tons per year of diesel pollution into the air.
At the time, the neighbors were under the impression that KCBX was handling coal, not PetKoch. They complained to IEPA in November, 2011 that, “The coal piles are uncovered and result in coal dust blowing offsite across the entire community. Residents living adjacent to the coal yard and in the Vet’s Park community (say) that their property is constantly covered with coal dust and that their children come in after playing in their backyards with hands and clothes dirtied with coal dust.”
The Illinois State Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) still issued KCBX a permit allowing discharge of 225 tons per year of fine particulate matter (dust, or PM), about the same amount that would be discharged by a petroleum refinery. But the permit’s conditions prohibited visible discharges of PM for extended periods, and required dust control measures.
The massive pile of PetKoch apparently began arriving at KCBX recently, as a byproduct from the nearby BP refinery. KCBX is also permitted to operate a “screen plant,” which would potentially “sort” the PetKoch into tinier and tinier fragments, making it vulnerable to strong winds.
The latest charges contend that that KCBX violated several of its permit conditions, and seeks $10,000 per day of penalties, plus $50,000 for each violation of state laws. Since the neighbors contend these violations have gone on for two years or more, the penalties could add up. However, the Kochs’ $300 million a day income still dwarfs any possible fine.
Even with these charges pending, KCBX has filed applications to expand its PetKoch handling operation. The Southeast Environmental Task Force is urging angry neighbors to rise to the challenge, including attendance at an IEPA-sponsored meeting last night.
Two weeks earlier, the IEPA filed separate violation notices against Beemsterboer Slag Company, who were also storing huge piles of PetKoch, and allowing massive dust clouds to blow away and darken the sky above neighboring residences. The slag company was also operating an unpermitted “screening” process, that would generate additional dust if done improperly.
Several angry neighbors have their own civil suits filed against the PetKoch dust from these operations.
The Kochtopus' widespread use of secretive "dark money" campaign contributions insures that the Koch Brothers carry politicians in their pockets the way most of us carry coins.
Neighborhood groups in Detroit and Chicago, and our own Kossacks, have been covering the PetKoch scandals. Here is a recent link to FishoutofWater’s coverage.
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