Heather Faragher, interviews by author, 2015; Heather Faragher, transcript of interview with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (hereafter cited as MPCA) investigators, December 19, 1997.
The empty fields . . . sky was often slate gray: Notes from reporting at the Pine Bend refinery in March 2015.
Faragher joined the company: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015; Heather Faragher, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, December 19, 1997.
It would be inaccurate to describe . . . corporate training: Faragher, and dozens of other current and former Koch Industries employees, interviews by author, 2013–18.
She watched while her bosses and coworkers broke the law: Accounts in this chapter are based in part on transcripts of lengthy interviews that the primary actors gave to investigators with the MPCA in 1997. Citations of interview transcripts often include a page number corresponding to germane sections of the interview in question, but those pages are not the only source for information in this narrative—details of each episode are often reinforced by statements elsewhere in the interview and by interviews with other participants. It is the overlapping accounts of all the interviews, in full, that undergird the narrative in this chapter. The interview transcripts are supplemented by interviews with participants, newspaper accounts, and court filings.
Faragher’s experience . . . problems at Koch Industries during the 1990s: Loder and Evans, “The Secret Sins of Koch Industries.”
Heather Faragher . . . small town of Bayport, Minnesota: Faragher, Lawrence, interviews by author, 2015; US Census data on Bayport, Minnesota.
In 1992, Koch launched . . . make cleaner fuels: “Koch Begins Construction on Clean Fuels Project,” PR Newswire, March 24, 1992.
In 1995, Koch was considering a new $300 million project: “Koch Refining Eyes Building 250-MW Petroleum-Coke Fired Unit in Minn.,” Industrial Energy Bulletin, May 19, 1995.
The production capacity . . . during this time: “Annual Refining Capacity,” Oil & Gas Journal, March 18, 1985; ibid., March 18, 1986; ibid., March 18, 1995; ibid., March 18, 1996.
The rapid expansion created strains: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015; Faragher, Brian Roos, Steve David, Tim Rusch, Larry Barnett, Terry Stormoen, Joseph Butzer, Charlie Chadwell, Gary Ista, Todd Aalto, Karen Hall, Ruth Estes, Eric Askeland, Rick Legvold, transcripts of interviews by MPCA investigators, December 19, 1997; “Whistleblower Trial Against Koch Refinery Begins in Federal Court,” Associated Press, January 4, 2000.
Karen Hall oversaw the division: Karen Hall, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 4, 1997.
Faragher’s glass-walled office was located next to Hall’s: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015.
The refinery pumped . . . every day: Roos, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 17, 1997, 64; Faragher, interviews by author, 2015.
There was, in fact, a stark division of power: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015. Safety officials like Faragher are considered as working for “nonprofit” centers at Koch Industries, while managers who operate the facilities are considered “property owners.” Koch sought to contain expenses within its “nonprofit” functions. Gable and Ellig, Introduction to Market-Based Management, 41–46.
Karen Hall explained . . . the operations people: Karen Hall, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 4, 1997, 14.
The operations team that Faragher reported to was run by . . . Brian Roos: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015; Roos, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 17, 1997, 64.
The refinery at Pine Bend was divided into five groups: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015; Karen Hall, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 4, 1997, 19–20; Roos, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 17, 1997, 5–6.
Environmental engineers . . . nonprofit groups: Gable and Ellig, Introduction to Market-Based Management, 41–46.
Heather Faragher spent a lot of time walking: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015.
One of the operators . . . Todd Aalto: Todd Aalto, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 6, 1997.
When inspecting . . . the concrete floor: Ibid., 50.
In this case, the decision would have gone up to Karen Hall’s boss: Steven David, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, November 19, 1997.
Faragher proposed new investments and upgrades . . . those investments were delayed: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015; Faragher, transcript of interview by MPCA investigators, December 19, 1997.
“If the payback of the investment was going to be less”: Faragher, interviews by author, 2015.
At the Pine Bend refinery, Koch was allowed to expel: WWTP Spec Sheet, Pine Bend refinery, May 1995; Faragher, interviews by author, 2015.
One day, Steve David . . . Koch method of wastewater treatment: Notes and drawings of charts at meeting, made extemporaneously and provided later to author; Faragher, interviews by author, 2015.
Things started going wrong around June 1, 1996: Timothy