Koch to Pay $35-Million Fine for Oil Leaks

One of the country’s largest oil pipeline operators, Koch Industries, agreed to pay $35 million in penalties for leaking 3 million gallons of oil into lakes and streams in six states. The government said it was the biggest civil fine levied under the Clean Water Act. The settlement resolved two lawsuits charging that for years Koch’s pipeline subsidiary had left thousands of miles of pipeline in disrepair, leading to hundreds of oil leaks. Koch, based in Wichita, Kan., is a privately held company that operates more than 35,000 miles of oil and gas pipeline in the U.S. and Canada. The spills polluted waterways in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri, according to the EPA.