A subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. has been fined $2.3 million for allegedly polluting waterways as part of hydraulic fracturing operations.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department said Monday that XTO Energy Inc. dumped sand, dirt, rocks and other fill materials into West Virginia streams and wetlands at eight sites without permits, in violation of the Clean Water Act.

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XTO’s illegal activities were part of its efforts to construct well pads, road crossings, freshwater pits and other facilities necessary for fracking in the Marcellus Shale, the federal agencies said.

“American communities expect EPA and our state partners to make sure energy development is done responsibly,” Cynthia Giles, the EPA’s assistant administrator for enforcement, said in a statement.

“This case will help to protect clean water in West Virginia, and support a level playing field for energy developers that play by the rules,” Giles said.

In addition to the fine, XTO agreed to spend about $3 million to restore the dumping sites and will implement a “comprehensive” plan to ensure compliance with federal and state water pollution laws at its West Virginia horizontal drilling wells.

“The extraction of domestic energy resources is vitally important, and so it is equally important that companies ensure that all activities are done in accordance with the nation’s environmental laws,” said Sam Hirsch, the Justice Department's acting assistant attorney general for environmental enforcement.

West Virginia, whose Department of Environmental Protection assisted the federal government in the case, will receive half of the $2.3 million fine.

Federal officials fined XTO in a separate case in July 2013 for water pollution allegations in Pennsylvania, also stemming from fracking operations.