The shale gas impact fees collected from drillers by the state and meted out to counties, cities, townships and boroughs have been announced — and have increased for the first time in three years.

Butler County will receive a total of $2.1 million, including the Marcellus Legacy Fund grant of $166,406, said county controller Ben Holland. The amount makes Butler County the seventh-largest recipient of shale gas impact fees in the state, according to information provided by the state

Public Utility Commission (PUC).The county will divide the money between Butler County Emergency Services, county technology and capital improvement projects and the county's new infrastructure bank. Any remaining funds will be spent at the discretion of the commissioners, Holland said.The amount disbursed to each county, as well as the separate amounts to municipalities, is based on the number of shale gas wells within its borders, he said.According to PUC data, the county is home to a total of 547 wells, making it the seventh-heaviest site of gas drilling in the commonwealth.

A full story will appear in Sunday's Butler Eagle.