March 2, 2021: Today, in another loss for ExxonMobil Corporation in a historic and long-running environmental enforcement case, a U.S. district court has imposed a $14.25 million penalty to punish the company for violating the federal Clean Air Act at its Baytown, Texas refinery and chemical plant complex over a period of eight years.
The new ruling came following a “remand” of the case back to the district court from the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Last July, a three-judge panel had rejected most of the arguments Exxon had made in its appeal of the original $19.95 million penalty in this case. Nonetheless, the appellate court sent the case back to Judge Hittner to make additional findings as to how many of the thousands of proven Clean Air Act violations were of a type or magnitude that was “capable of causing” the kinds of harms suffered by Sierra Club and Environment Texas members who live near the sprawling facility.
In his new opinion, Judge Hittner found that the environmental groups had proven at trial that thousands of instances of illegal flaring and unauthorized releases of pollutants causing smoke, chemical odors, ground-level ozone, and respiratory problems were “fairly traceable” to the injuries suffered by their members. In support of his penalty assessment, Judge Hittner pointed to the fact that Exxon had committed more than one violation every single day for a period of eight years.
Furthermore, Judge Hittner flatly rejected Exxon’s “act of God” defense, finding that Hurricane Ike in 2008 was not responsible for the vast amounts of pollution released during Exxon’s “startup” and “shutdown” of the facility.
Exxon’s 3,400-acre complex in Baytown, Texas, is located about 25 miles east of downtown Houston. Tens of thousands of people live within three miles of the complex, with more nearby.
The groups are represented by the National Environmental Law Center; attorney David Nicholas of Newton, Massachusetts; and Houston attorneys Philip Hilder and Will Graham.
Read the National Environmental Law Center’s full press release here.