April 26, 2017: a federal district court in Texas ordered ExxonMobil to pay nearly $20 million in civil penalties—believed to be largest civil penalty ever imposed in an environmental “citizen suit”—for unlawfully releasing 10 million pounds of air pollutants at a 3,400-acre chemical manufacturing and refining complex in Baytown, Texas, a suburb of Houston in Harris County. By delaying implementation of necessary pollution control measures and committing more than 16,000 days of violations of the federal Clean Air Act, Exxon has reaped profits, the court concluded, of more than $14 million. Exxon’s illegal emissions have polluted the air with carcinogens, other toxic pollutants, respiratory irritants, and smog-forming chemicals, and thus have posed a significant threat to public health and the environment. In addition to the substantial civil penalties, the court also ruled that the Club is entitled to attorney fees and costs, in an amount to be determined; the court denied Exxon’s similar request. The victory is a result of years of advocacy and litigation by the Sierra Club and Environment Texas, represented by National Environmental Law Center senior attorney Josh Kratka, attorney David Nicholas of Newton, Massachusetts, and attorneys Philip Hilder and Will Graham of Texas.