Koch brothers' petcoke firm threatens lawsuit over city rules

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

Source: Chicago Tribune

Escalating a fight with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a company that stores enormous mounds of petroleum coke on Chicago's Southeast Side is threatening to sue unless city officials allow the gritty piles to remain uncovered for another four years.

KCBX Terminals, a firm controlled by industrialists Charles and David Koch, is pushing to delay the construction of storage sheds for two years past a 2016 deadline imposed by the Emanuel's administration in response to complaints about black dust blowing into surrounding neighborhoods.

The company also wants to raise the maximum height of its piles to 45 feet rather than the 30-foot limit required under new city regulations, according to documents filed by KCBX that seek several exemptions, known as variances, from the Chicago Department of Public Health.

"If the department denies the variances, KCBX's only recourse would be to challenge the department in court," the company's lawyers wrote in an 88-page request that repeatedly describes the Emanuel rules as an "unreasonable hardship."


Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-koch-brothers-petcoke-delays-20140725,0,7783972.story

[sakabatou]

1. "Let us pollute or we'll fuck you over."

[DiverDave]

7. LOL, Or maybe "Fuck you up"

But maybe I shouldnt give them any ideas.

[Big_Mike]

2. Regardless of who is going against the government

I am generally on the side of the individual against the government until I see facts that the person has his head up his ass and is suing out of simple (or complex) assholery.

Though in this case, I see 49% assholery from the get go. Still, the government should have to prove why a given statute is correct.

Just sayin'.

[groundloop]

3. That's mighty libertarian of you

You think government should have to prove themselves for a regulation to reduce the amount of pollution from an uncovered pile of coal/coke? That stuff is nasty, smelly, and breathing the dust is a known health hazard.

[freshwest]

11. +1.

[Scalded Nun]

5. Just waitin'

until they put some of that shit next to your house or in your neighborhood and you get what you want...the gov't throwing up their hands and telling you that you are on your own. Hey, that is what libertarians want, right?

[denvine]

6. When it is corporation vs. Government, I generally take the side of Government.

Corporations are in business to make a profit at any cost regardless of the consequences to the general public. Government is not perfect but they can be voted in or out by their constituents. We don't have that choice with corporations. Government is the only tool we have to protect ourselves. In this instance it is even more important because it is the Koch brothers.

[Sunlei]

4. Some businesses will push until a town goes broke from the court costs.If Koch goes to court- docs

are public info! Keep that in mind Koch!!

Must have already cost Chicago thousands? millions? just to try to get Koch to clean-up his mess.

[surrealAmerican]

8. The city of Chicago can fine homeowners ...

... for overgrown grass in their yards, but they can't fine them for 30 foot tall piles of coke that spread noxious dust to the surrounding area?

[MoreGOPoop]

9. Kck

The slash-and-burn Kochtopus needs its tentacles tied. And an orange
jumpsuit.

[stuffmatters]

10. Class Action Law Suit against the Koch's?

Have the laws protecting polluters been so weakened that people endangered by this toxic, carginogenic dust cannot even ban together to sue these sociopathic brothers? I remember thinking, when they let this deadly crap fly in south Detroit,
that every single person "dusted" should sue the Kochs for a million. A few thousand victims banning together could put a real dent in their eighty billion. Just being exposed causes enormous pain and suffering; imagine knowing that this poisoning is going to bring you a painful and premature death. That to me seems the definition of pain and suffering from corporate irresponsibility
and a lawsuit against the Kochs for poisoning society with their Kochdust is like a second hand smoke case on steroids.


This is why a major plank in the Rove/Koch corporate longterm agenda is to ultimately destroy the ability for people to file class action lawsuits...they've attacked both the lawyers (esp big Dem donors Dem) and the laws themselves with SCOTUS' collusion. Whether it's seeking protection/compensation from Koch deadly dust or poisoned water or exploding trains taking out whole towns, the power to wage class action lawsuits has been deliberately & efficiently weakened to the point that society cannot even protect themselves from the most brazen and obvious corporate poisoning.