​While the Montour Preserve may lack the scenic views of Kinzua Bridge State Park or density of majestic waterfalls of a venue such as Ricketts Glen State Park, longtime naturalist and environmental educator Jon Beam suggested the privately owned facility in northern Montour County does provide a very unique feature.

“I always said that Montour Preserve had nothing special in the way of habitats, but what made Montour Preserve special was that it had a wide variety of habitats,” he said. “From pine stands to deciduous woods to old fields, to grassy open areas to transitional stage shrub habitat, and, of course, the lake, ponds and some wetland areas.

“In just under 1,000 acres, that is quite a variety in habitat types and I think that is what makes the property so attractive to such a wide variety of birds and other wildlife.”

In a Sept. 11, 2025, inspection report by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of the Eureka Services' Second Street facility where an Aug. 17 spill led to fracking wastewater working its way out of a storage container, through a building and eventually into the nearby Susquehanna River's West Branch, the agency claims that 8,424 gallons of fluid has been recovered via cleanup efforts since the incident was reported.

The report suggests that "basically all of the oil that was captured within the building has now been collected and tallied."

Also according to the report, the facility has calculated that 11,430 gallons of fracking waste was released from the N3 tank during the spill, meaning that 3,000 gallons have not been recovered. DEP states in the report that it hasn't reviewed the spill total calculations, so these numbers "should be treated as preliminary estimates."

Cat Pugh and Erin Trouba, educators with the Penn State Extension office, presented to nearly 50 people aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, about riparian buffers and various plant species that can be used successfully in those environments for a Floating Classroom program hosted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.

Trouba led the lower-level discussion on riparian buffers overview, their importance and had people check out the riverside to compare different buffers during the boat ride. Upstairs, Pugh shared a wide variety of different species that can be used to plant in buffer zones, including edible plants, those that can be used for weaving and other crafts and more. 

​​It only takes a few seconds to ask ChatGPT to map out the best places to stop for tacos on your family’s next road trip, create a new song for the playlist during the drive or suggest the best birthday gift option for your Aunt Myrtle before you arrive at her house and where you can pick it up while avoiding rush-hour traffic.

However, each request of the artificial intelligence generated model can consume some noticeable real-life natural resources, according to Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) Executive Director Andrew Dehoff.

“If you haven’t heard the recent quip or statistic, one question to ChatGPT can consume upwards of one standard 16-ounce bottle of water,” he said.
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Which can pose a real concern for the multi-state agency that monitors and permits water withdrawal requests within the greater Susquehanna River watershed, especially as mega-companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft propose hyperscale data centers within the basin.

Riverkeeper's note: Check out the initial coverage of this story from Tuesday's visit to the site here as well as our follow-up to the spill site here.​

On Aug. 1, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected the Eureka Resources facility on Second Street in Williamsport and found several notable violations, including a lack of high-level alarms on a majority of the tanks the company uses to store fracking wastewater – including Tank N3.

On Aug. 7, the agency issued an official notice of violation for these infractions, which also included storage of waste for more than a year (Eureka’s records indicated approximately 1,378,897 gallons of oil and gas liquid waste has been stored at the site since July 1, 2024) and lack of sufficient freeboard on Tank B8. Freeboard is the portion of a tank not used to store liquids.

Just 10 days later, a pair of fishermen noticed an oily black ooze coming from the Hepburn Street pump house into the Susquehanna River and reported it – sparking an investigation that led officials to its source: a corroded fitting about 3 to 4 feet above the ground on Tank N3 at the Eureka Resources facility. The leak released an estimated 16,000 gallons of oil-based wastewater – half of which made it past the secondary containment into the building and some of that worked its way into storm drains, nearby Grafius Run and eventually the river.

This all is per an official Order by the DEP against Eureka Resources dated Aug. 19, 2025, and can be read in full here.