Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Over the past several years, Total Petrochemical’s sprawling oil refinery in southeast Texas has sprayed tons of sulfuric acid and carbon monoxide into the sky. (AP/David J. Phillip)
A Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy group sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, arguing the federal government isn’t properly policing air pollution permits the state of Texas issued to some of the largest industrial facilities in the U.S.

Exxon Mobil’s Billings Refinery in Billings, Mont. (AP/Matthew Brown)
In a huge win for environmental groups, a federal judge has ordered ExxonMobil to pay nearly $20 million for spewing millions of pounds of excess air pollution from its Houston-area industrial facilities.