PA Environment Digest Blog: PennLive: Attorney General Sunday Files Criminal Charges Against Eureka Resources For Oil & Gas Wastewater Leaks From Its Now Closed Standing Stone Facility In Wysox Twp., Bradford County

On June 9, John Beauge reported on PennLive.com Attorney General Sund filed criminal charges against Eureka Resources for oil and gas wastewater leaks from its Standing Stone Facility in Wysox Township, Bradford County, one of three now closed treatment facilities owned by the company..

Eureka is charged with seven counts of criminally violating three different sections of the Solid Waste Management Act.

The accusations include--

-- Permitting wastewater to leak from tanks and containment areas on Feb. 6, Oct. 4 and Dec. 12, 2023, Sept. 4, 2024, and Jan. 29, 2025.

-- Allowing leachate from a roll-off and runoff from a pile of salt and soil to get onto the ground.

-- Operating a storage facility without a permit by storing wastewater for more than a year.

-- Turning off high-level alarms that prevent tanks from overtopping.

-- Failing to comply with DEP’s Jan. 29, 2025, consent order to empty tanks that had been leaking since February 2023.

-- Failing to comply with DEP’s Sept. 2, 2025, administrative order to remove all waste from the Standing Stone facility within 30 days. As of May 7, 126,000 gallons remained in a tank.

PennLive reported a vice president of operations is quoted in the arrest affidavit as saying finances at Eureka were slipping every year.

The price it was paid for processing wastewater [from shale gas drilling and production operations] had dropped from $10 to $12 a barrel to $6 and $7, he said.

The Standing Stone Facility was shut down in July 2024 and deserted with all the equipment and full wastewater tanks left unsecured. The telephone was disconnected. Read more here.

The company shut down in the summer of 2024.

Background

This is the latest in a series of actions taken against Eureka Resources and the three oil and gas wastewater treatment facilities it owns in Lycoming and Bradford counties.

The Department of Environmental Protection issued a series of orders and violations to Eureka Resources requiring the removal and cleanup of millions of gallons of wastewater from its facilities. Read more here.

Most recently, DEP filed a contempt of court action in Commonwealth Court and penalized Eureka Resources $100,000 for multiple violations at the facilities for failing to comply with DEP orders. Read more here.

Last August, a spill of 16,000 gallons of wastewater called “black goop” by local fisherman from its Second Street Plant in Williamsport made its way into the Susquehanna River. Read more here.

DEP issued multiple violations to Eureka Resources for each of its facilities dating back to at least 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.

In December 2023, former employees of Eureka Resources asked for a criminal investigation of the company and its operations for alleged workplace and environmental violations. Read more here.

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Resource Links: Eureka Resources:

-- DEP Files Contempt Of Court Action, Fines Eureka Resources $100,000 For Multiple Violations At Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Bradford, Lycoming Counties [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]

-- DEP Proposes To Deny Eureka Resources Water Quality Permit Renewal For Standing Stone Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility In Bradford County [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]

-- 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]

-- 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

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

-- 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]