The Sept. 11 Butler Eagle reported state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, upon the recommendation of a grand jury, has filed criminal charges against XTO Energy for a 2010 spill of toxic waste water in Lycoming County.

In July, the Environmental Protection Agency fined XTO, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, $100,000 for this same incident, which was in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. The company’s drilling operations discharged more than 57,000 gallons of waste water into the Susquehanna River system in Penn Township, Lycoming County. The waste water contained high levels of toxic substances such as strontium, chloride, bromide and barium and flowed continually for more than two months in the fall of 2010, according to the EPA. The settlement also required XTO to spend an estimated $20 million to improve its waste water disposal process.

According to the National Public Radio program StateImpact Pennsylvania, although XTO is not one of the top 10 drillers in the state, it is one of the top ten violators, with an average of nearly one violation per well. The most recent data available shows the company with 212 active wells and 230 violations, including a staggering 179 violations incurred at just 25 wells.

XTO has incurred 12 violations in Butler County, seven of which have occurred in 2013.

And yet residents and officials continue to crow about how safe and responsible XTO Energy is. Go figure.