PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP: Eureka Resources Has Until Jan. 31 To Remove All Wastewater From Its 3 Closed Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants; About 1.5 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Remains In Bradford County Facility

The Department of Environmental Protection set a January 31 deadline for Eureka Resources, LLC to remove all remaining wastewater from its three closed oil and gas wastewater treatment plants and pay an outstanding penalty or face additional legal proceedings and penalties.

The deadline was included in notices of violation issued to the company by DEP’s Waste Management Program on January 8 for the 2nd Street and Catawissa Avenue treatment plants in Williamsport, Lycoming County and the Standing Stone facility in Standing Stone Township, Bradford County.

Standing Stone

DEP said Eureka Resources is in violation of an August 12, 2025 Commonwealth Court order and a September 2, 2025 DEP order to remove all oil and gas wastewater from the Standing Stone facility by December 1, 2025, according to the January 8 notice of violation.

The September 2 DEP order also included a $6,100 penalty for violating a January 29, 2025 Consent Order and Agreement covering the cleanup of the facility. Read more here.

Eureka paid $6,000 of the penalty, but has not yet paid the last $100, according to DEP.

DEP’s most recent inspection of the facility on January 23, 2026 found Eureka had just started to remove the 2.1 million gallons of oil and gas wastewater at the facility on January 22 and so far removed about 110,880 gallons.

The facility may have about 1.5 million gallons remaining to be removed, if Eureka kept removing wastewater at the same rate.

DEP said Eureka will be focused on removing wastewater from the facility over the next two weeks.

The January 8 violation notice “recommends” Eureka complete the removal of all oil and gas wastewater from the facility by January 31 to avoid additional enforcement actions.

Violations at this facility were originally issued on August 19, 2024 when DEP inspected the facility and found it was closed, not secured and without a working telephone. Read more here.

Violations for unresolved wastewater leaks at the facility date back to February 2023.

In September, 2022, a worker at the plant was killed and Eureka Resources was fined by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations. Read more here.

2nd Street Facility

DEP said Eureka Resources is in violation of an August 19, 2025 order requiring the cleanup of the facility and removal and proper disposal of an estimated 1,050,000 gallons of oil and gas wastewater by September 18, 2025, according to the January 8 notice of violation.

DEP issued the order because on August 17, 2025, an estimated 16,000 gallons of oil and gas wastewater spilled from a corroded storage tank at the closed 2nd Street facility and found its way into the Susquehanna River. Read more here.

Two fishermen discovered the "black goop" when they were fishing in the river, according to PennLive.

Removal of wastewater from this facility did not begin until October 27, 2025, according to a January 22, 2026 DEP inspection.

DEP’s January 22 inspection report said a total of 1,795,920 gallons of oil and gas wastewater was removed from the 2nd Street and Catawissa Avenue facilities for disposal or reuse and an additional 26,40 gallons of waste oil for recycling.

On January 14, DEP’s spokesperson Megan Lehman said a total of 2.5 million gallons of all contaminated material at the 2nd Street and Catawissa facilities had been removed.

“The facility mostly has sludge that accumulated in the tanks and waste oil remaining. Sludge from the treatment tanks has been processed and the remaining fluids prepared for reuse,” as of January 22.

“The facility is currently receiving the remaining wastewater from the Catawissa Avenue facility as it has some higher solids content and needs processing to remove it prior to being sent for reuse,” DEP’s report said.

During a January 7, 2026 inspection, DEP said it was “made aware of efforts to sell drums and totes that either did contain waste, still have waste residue in them or are dirty.

“In order to be able to sell these, they must be completely cleaned of all waste. The Department does not agree with any attempts to sell used or dirty waste drums or totes from the facility.”

The January 8 violation notice “recommends” Eureka complete removal of all oil and gas wastewater from the facility by January 31 to avoid additional enforcement actions.

2nd Street Facility Act 2 Cleanup

As a result of the August 2025 spill, the 2nd Street facility is also undergoing cleanup under the Act 2 Land Recycling Program by Eureka and more work needs to be done at the site to comply with cleanup standards under that program.

The most recent Environmental Cleanup Program inspection of the site on November 20, 2025 found some progress had been made in excavating and disposal of contaminated soil next to the building where waste oil had seeped through.

However, DEP said it could not determine whether Eureka had completed the investigation of the stormwater system that conveyed the oil and wastewater to the Susquehanna River, a major part of the cleanup.

Catawissa Avenue

DEP said Eureka Resources was in violation of a July 9, 2025 Order requiring the cleanup of the facility and removal of 1,470,000 gallons of oil and gas wastewater from the facility by October 7, according to the January 8 notice of violation.

As of January 8, Eureka had not paid a $5,500 penalty that was included in the July 9 order, according to the violation notice, but DEP said they have since received a check for the penalty.

A January 22, 2026 inspection of the facility found oil and gas wastewater was continuing to be removed from a 1.5 million gallon storage tank, which had about 5.1 feet of wastewater remaining in the tank.

“The remaining wastewater in the tank has higher solids content so is being sent first to the 2nd Street facility to remove some solids prior to reuse.”

The January 8 violation notice “recommends” Eureka complete the removal of all oil and gas wastewater from the facility by January 31 to avoid additional enforcement actions.

DEP will be evaluating Eureka Resources’s compliance efforts in the coming weeks to determine if any additional enforcement actions are necessary.

(Photos: Standing Stone Facility storage tank containment, inside the facility from January 23, 2026 DEP inspection report.)

Resource Links - Eureka Resources:

-- DEP: An Estimated 16,000 Gallons Of 'Black Goop' Spills From Closed Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant In Williamsport, Reaching Susquehanna River [PaEN]

-- DEP: Eureka Resources Submits Plan To Cleanup, Close All 3 Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Remove 4.6 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Left In Lycoming & Bradford County Facilities [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues New Order To Eureka Resources To Remove Oil & Gas Wastewater From Its Bradford County Facility In 90 Days; Imposes Penalty $6,100 For Not Complying With January Order; Updates On Other Facilities [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]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Jan. 3 to 30: 56 Conventional Abandoned Well Violations Start The Year; 1.2 Million Gallons Of Drilling Fluid Lost; Shale Water Pipeline Freezes; 1.5 Million Gallons Of Wastewater To Remove [PaEN

-- DEP: Day 455 And Counting: Seneca Resources Continues To Release Wastewater, Frack New Shale Gas Wells At Taft Well Pad In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Owner Of At Least 43 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Issued Violations For 6 More On State Game Lands In Venango County; Efforts To Locate The Owner Have Been Unsuccessful [PaEN]

-- DEP: Eureka Resources Has Until Jan. 31 To Remove All Wastewater From Its 3 Closed Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants; About 1.5 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Remains In Bradford County Facility [PaEN]