| Houston, Texas – The United States Supreme Court has rejected ExxonMobil’s attempt to overturn a record $14.25 million judgment against the company for years of illegal air pollution at its Baytown refinery and chemical complex. The decision brings a close to a 15-year legal battle and allows a historic civil penalty—the largest ever imposed in a Clean Air Act citizen suit—to stand. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee, whose office filed an amicus brief supporting the citizen plaintiffs alongside the City of Houston and Air Alliance, praised the ruling as a major victory for the residents of Baytown and for environmental accountability: “This decision is a victory for the people of Baytown and communities all along the Ship Channel who have suffered for years from toxic air pollution. ExxonMobil repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act, and this ruling makes clear that corporations will be held accountable—even when they try to run from that responsibility all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision preserves that power and upholds the Clean Air Act’s core promise: clean air and public health take priority over corporate profit.” The case stems from over 16,000 days of permit violations at Exxon’s Baytown facility between 2005 and 2013, during which the company released more than 10 million pounds of unauthorized air pollution. |