The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, to resolve an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) related to the discharge of wastewater from XTO's Penn Township, Lycoming County, Pa. facility used for the storage of wastewater generated by natural gas exploration, commonly known as fracking, and production. The federal settlement requires that XTO pay a penalty of 100,000 to the United States and spend a federal government-estimated 20 million on a comprehensive plan to improve wastewater management practices to recycle, properly dispose of, and prevent spills of wastewater generated from natural gas exploration and production activities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
