Judges toss $20M fine for Exxon refinery complex

摘要

Federal appellate judges have thrown out an approximately $20 million fine levied against Exxon Mobil Corp. for air pollution violations at its Houston-area Baytown Complex - even as they sided on significant issues with environmental groups who had accused the oil and gas giant of flouting the Clean Air Act. In an opinion issued late yesterday, a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to Judge David Hittner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to determine "traceability" between some of the permit violations at the massive petrochemical complex and alleged harm to nearby residents. In a letter to the Southern District of Texas attached to the opinion, a 5th Circuit employee said that proceedings in the litigation are on hold for 30 days, suggesting that the judges want Hittner to act quickly. For now, the immediate impact is to prolong a legal battle that has lasted a full decade; yesterday's ruling left both sides claiming at least a modicum of victory. In a one-sentence statement today, Exxon Mobil spokesman Todd Spitler said the company agreed with the decision to vacate the $19.95 million fine imposed by Hittner in 2017.