PA Environment Digest Blog: Marcellus Drilling News: Eureka Resources Plans To Close/Sell 2 Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants In Williamsport: Not Enough Wastewater Volume To Keep Plants Open

On August 23, Marcellus Drilling News reported Eureka Resources plans to close or sell two of its oil and gas wastewater treatment plants in Williamsport and downsize its operations to only one facility-- its Standing Stone Treatment Facility in Bradford County.

This report follows a DEP inspection of the Standing Stone Treatment Facility August 19 that found the facility shut down and its workers laid off as well as a series of continuing waste violations dating back to February 2023. Read more here.

MDN quoted Eureka CEO Dan Ertel as saying the company currently plans to reopen the Standing Stone facility sometime in October. He said there was not enough oil and gas wastewater volume to keep all three of its treatment plants operating.

Ertel also told MDN the company's plan to extract lithium from oil and gas wastewater "will ramp up in earnest when the facility resumes operations this fall."

Click Here to read the entire article. [PDF of Article]

What Else We Know

On August 19, the Department of Environmental Protection inspected the Eureka Resources Standing Stone oil and gas wastewater treatment plant in Standing Stone Township, Bradford County and found the plant shut down and all the workers were laid off in July.

The telephone number at the plant has been disconnected. Read more here.

We now also know closing the Standing Stone Plant came at the same time Eureka Resources submitted a request to DEP on July 15 to terminate the water quality permit for a new oil and gas wastewater plant in Dimock, Susquehanna County.

Eureka cited “commercial factors” for terminating the permit. DEP granted the request on July 24. Read more here.

Resource Links - Eureka Resources:

-- Eureka Resources Shuts Down Standing Stone Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility; DEP Wastewater, Waste Violations Continue From Feb. 2023 [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Eureka Resources Plans To Close/Sell 2 Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants In Williamsport: Not Enough Wastewater Volume To Keep Plants Open [PaEN]

-- Eureka Resources Request To Terminate Its Water Quality Permit For A Proposed Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility In Dimock, Susquehanna County Approved By DEP [PaEN]

-- Former Employees Of Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Company Ask For Criminal Investigation Of Eureka And An Audit Of DEP Over Alleged Workplace, Environmental Violations [PaEN]

-- Rocket-Courier: Sayre Man Killed At Eureka Resources Standing Stone Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant [September, 2022]

-- Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Report On Worker Death.

-- Eureka Resources Extracted 97% Pure Lithium Carbonate Used In Making Lithium-ion Batteries From Oil & Gas Wastewater [PaEN]

-- Gov. Wolf Announces Redevelopment Assistance Project Grants, Including $30.4 Million For 20 Environmental, Recreation, Energy Projects [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - August 17 to 23 - Failure Of Casing During Fracking; 46 Day Delay In Water Compliant Notice; Closing 3 Wastewater Treatment Facilities; 40 More Abandoned Conventional Wells [PaEN]