On December 11, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, acting en banc, upheld a $14.25 million civil penalty against ExxonMobil Corporation and its affiliates for spewing hazardous air pollution into communities surrounding its Baytown, Texas refinery and petrochemical complex on thousands of occasions, in violation of its Clean Air Act permit. This is the largest penalty ever imposed by a court in a Clean Air Act citizen suit and is a result of years of litigation by Sierra Club and its partners.
The Baytown facility is the largest petroleum and petrochemical complex in the United States, with a circumference of more than 13 miles. In 2010, the Sierra Club and Environment Texas Citizens Lobby sued Exxon for permit violations and sought civil penalties to deter Exxon from continuing to violate the law. During the protracted litigation, Exxon was forced to essentially admit that it had committed on average more than one permit violation per day for a period spanning 8 years. The Fifth Circuit en banc court reinstated the district court's decision finding that the penalty was an appropriate means to deter future violations. The ruling represents a huge victory for Baytown residents who suffer from Exxon's unlawful pollution. Read more about this case in our press release.