More than 1.3 million gallons of wastewater stored at Williamsport facility in tanks without required alarms among violations DEP issued 10 days prior to river spill

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.

The order goes on to explain the unlawful conduct of Eureka in:

• Storage of solid waste and residual waste for more than one year at the site
• Operation of a solid waste and residual waste disposal facility at the site without a permit
• Lack of sufficient freeboard in Tank B8
• Lack to operate Tank B8, Tank N3 and other above-ground tanks with high-level alarms – during the Aug. 1 inspection, these were found to be either disconnected or inoperable
• Eureka’s release of solid waste and residual waste to the waters of the Commonwealth
• Eureka’s unauthorized discharge of oil and gas liquid waste into the West Branch of the Susquehanna
• Violation of both the Solid Waste Management Act and Clean Streams Law

Considering all of this, DEP therefore is ordering Eureka to complete the following actions within the designated timelines:

• Take immediate remedial actions to prevent a further release from tank N3.
• Within five days submit a report on the interim measures that have been implemented and a corrective action plan for the removal of oil and gas liquid waste from the building and storm drains.
• Within 30 days repair or activate high-level alarms on all the tanks that contain oil and gas liquid that do not have functioning alarms.
• Not add any fluid to any tank on site until DEP confirms all the high-level alarms are functioning.
• Remove all oil and gas liquid from the site and property within 30 days, disposing of or recycling it at an authorized facility.
• Submit to DEP within 40 days receipts and documentation demonstrating that all the oil and gas liquids have been removed from the site and have been properly disposed.
• Inform DEP at least 10 days in advance if it intends to transfer an interest in the site before it has complied with all the requirements of the order.​

"Quite a bit of the details in this court order stand out. The fact that this spill could have been avoided if Eureka had properly responded to the notice of violation DEP issued just 10 days before is frustrating," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "The thought that high-level alarms were not only missing, but also intentionally disconnected in some cases is ridiculous. And, the realization that there is more than 1,300,000 more gallons of this stuff sitting in tanks at this facility so close to the river is highly concerning.

"As we have said in previous updates on this situation, holding the appropriate parties accountable for this pollution case needs to be a priority."