ExxonMobil Fails to Comply With 2005 Court Ruling

December 18, 2008

Email this story Print this post Add your comments

ExxonMobil will fork over some $6.1 million as a penalty for its violation of the terms of a 2005 court order concerning the Clean Air Act agreement, announced the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

At the time, ExxonMobil was told it must perform $6.7 million-worth of environmental projects in communities around the company’s refineries and install pollution controls at six of its U.S. refineries. On top of that, Exxon paid a $7.7 million civil penalty.

But the company failed to comply with the terms at four of its refineries: two in Texas (Beaumont and Baytown), one in Torrance, CA, and one in Baton Rouge, LA.

Most of the penalties are for failure to monitor and control the sulfur content in certain fuel gas streams burned in refinery furnaces in 2006-07. The burning of sulfur-containing gases emits sulfur dioxide, which can cause serious respiratory problems. Testing in 2007 revealed that sulfur content was in excess of EPA limits.

The EPA has been working to reduce air pollution from refineries in the U.S. Some 95 refineries across 28 states (comprising 86 percent of the nation’s refining capacity) have been required to install new controls to significantly reduce emissions.

“The EPA will continue to enforce against companies that fail to comply with the terms of court-approved settlements,” asserted the agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

Email this story Print this post Add your comments

Advertisers

Make sustainability part of your strategy.

Get equipped at the SAP Sustainability Resource Center. >>

EFFECTIVELY MANAGE WATER COMPLIANCE

Understand how increased enforcement may affect your company. Find out more >>

EPA mandatory emissions reporting starts Jan 1st

CSA Standards can help your organization get ready for compliance. Find out how. >>

Join the Discussion

Reader Comments

Isn’t it interesting that Exxon Mobil posted the highest profit ever recorded for a private company in 2007 – $39.5 BILLION. And yet, the company could not manage to invest a teeny tiny bit of that money into complying with EPA requirements. And yet this company has the nerve to flood the TV with warm and fuzzy ads telling us about how much they care about the environment… Too bad the gov’t can’t afford to take out ads to tell the public about the poor environmental performance of these corporate giants…

Renee Avdoulos | December 19th, 2008