A federal judge in Houston, Texas recently denied ExxonMobil’s request to reduce a nearly US$20 million civil penalty for releasing millions of pounds of air pollutants from its Baytown refinery over the course of eight years.
According to the August 5th edition of the Houston Chronicle, US District Judge David Hittner rejected ExxonMobil’s argument that he should recalculate the amount of money the company saved by not making technological improvements – such as boosting emissions monitoring with infrared imaging technology – that could have prevented violations of the Clean Air Act.
In a statement, ExxonMobil said it disagreed with the ruling and would appeal Hittner’s decision.
