Koppers, Federal Government
Conclude Clean Water Act Review
Corporate Commitment to Environmental Improvement Embodied in Civil
Agreement
January 17, 2003, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Koppers
has concluded a nine-year review of its Clean Water Act reporting
by incorporating improvements in its environmental management system
in a civil agreement with the U.S. EPA and Department of Justice.
“Our nation’s environmental laws
must be upheld and our environmental regulations must be followed,” said
Randall D. Collins, Vice President Safety, Health & Environmental
Affairs for Koppers. “This agreement is a compromise of a
dispute over consistent and complete environmental reporting. It’s
important to note that our independent development of improved
environmental control processes made this compromise possible.”
Collins said the company’s enhanced environmental management
system, in development for several years, is at the heart of the
civil compromise filed Jan. 15 in U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Alabama. Also included is a $2.9 million Koppers payment
to the federal government. The agreement covers 24 Koppers plants
in 16 states.
“Koppers has always been committed to complying
with environmental laws, regulations and obligations,” Collins
said. “Because of our commitment to continuous improvement,
our environmental control processes have evolved into a state-of-the-art
system.”
The new Koppers environmental management system
will meet the ISO 14001 international standard for environmental
stewardship, he noted. “We believe environmental stewardship
is vital. Across our company, we take steps to make sure we comply
every day. Our enhanced management system will help us be even
better environmental stewards. We expect these improvements to
continue.”
The company’s compromise agreement is part
of an ongoing corporate effort to improve environmental performance
and resolve environmental recordkeeping disputes with the government.
In December 2002, the same federal court accepted
a Koppers agreement with the EPA and Department of Justice that
closed a criminal review of environmental reporting issues at the
company’s closed Woodward Coke Plant in Dolomite, Ala., just
outside Birmingham.
That case stemmed from a 1997 discovery by Koppers
that a former plant environmental engineer falsified a discharge
monitoring report. Also, employees failed to properly cover some
door seals that were part of a gas-blanketing system at the plant.
“These acts were not ordered or condoned
by Koppers. We discovered them, we immediately corrected them and
we reported them,” Collins said. “We did the right
thing. We brought the results of our investigations to the government.”
The former Woodward environmental engineer pled
guilty to felony charges for falsification of a discharge monitoring
report and was sentenced to three years’ probation and six
months of house confinement.
In the Woodward case, Koppers agreed to pay $2.1
million to the government and $900,000 in restitution to the Black
Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust over a three-year period to aid
in efforts to preserve the rivers’ watershed.
As part of its ongoing environmental management
processes, Collins said, Koppers has spent millions of dollars
over the last decade to improve nearly every aspect of its operations,
but neither of these agreements required the installation of any
equipment.
“While it’s unfortunate that some
recordkeeping disputes result in legal action, we have worked hard
in both of these situations to do what is right by the law, the
environment, our employees and our communities,” he said. “Compliance
with environmental laws is vital. Across our company, we take steps
to make sure we comply and improve every day. We are prepared to
move forward and are satisfied that these matters have been brought
to an appropriate conclusion.”
About Koppers:
Koppers, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a global integrated producer
of carbon compounds and treated wood products for use by the
utility, construction, railroad, aluminum, chemical and steel
industries. Koppers operates 39 facilities in the United States,
Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and South Africa. The
company has an indirect ownership interest in KSA Limited Partnership,
a concrete crosstie manufacturer, in Portsmouth, Ohio. The company’s
stock is shared by a large number of management investors and
by majority equity owner Saratoga Partners of New York, N.Y.
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