Here’s this week’s top shale gas stories:

( 1 ) EPA Fines Company for Frack Water Spills

According to NPR’s State Impact blog, the Environmental Protection Agency is fining XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, for violating the Clean Water Act.

The company was fined $100,000 after discharging between 6,300 and 57,373 gallons of waste water into the Susquehanna river system in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

» Via: State Impact Pennsylvania › EPA Fines XTO Energy for Lycoming County Frack Water Spills

( 2 ) Portage County Leading State in Drilling Waste Disposal

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Portage County injected enough drilling waste into the ground in 2012 to “fill a train of tanker cars that would stretch nearly 37 miles from downtown Akron to the center of Garrettsville”.

Portage County injected 2,358,371 million barrels in 15 active injection wells. Two-thirds of the waste was from out of state.

» Via: The Akron Beacon Journal › Portage County is No. 1 in Ohio for injecting drilling wastes

( 3 ) Fracking Isn’t the Only Thing Booming

Industries like manufacturing, trucking and housing benefit greatly from shale gas drilling, but another industry is also booming: sand mining. According to the Seattle Times, the demand for sand is on the rise.

Sand is used in the fracturing process as a propant, an ingredient that helps keep fractures open and allows gas to escape up the well.

» Via: The Seattle Times › Fracking spawns a demand for sand

( 4 ) Marcellus, Utica and now the Upper Devonian

A third layer of shale is attracting attention from gas drillers in Western Pennsylvania, according to the Tribune-Review.

Consol Energy Inc. recently touted success in the Upper Devonian, a shale layer a few hundred feet about the Marcellus. Two other drilling companies, Rex Energy Corp. and Range Resources Corp., have previously commented on the viability of the formation.

» Via: The Tribune-Review › Third level of shale coming into play

( 5 ) Chilean Energy Companies Interested in The Marcellus

It seems that the Marcellus shale is becoming quite famous around the world. Chilean energy executives are touring Pennsylvania for three days, according to NPR’s State Impact blog.

The reason for the visit? According to Bernardo Larrain, the chairman of Colbun, a Chilean Energy Company, the demand for energy in Chile is growing five to six percent a year.

» Via: State Impact Pennsylvania › Chilean Energy Companies Eye Marcellus Shale Gas