Inspections continue to take place at Eureka Resources’ facilities in Williamsport where a Second Street plant’s oily liquids seeped from an aboveground storage tank, reached a storm drain and entered the West Branch of the Susquehanna River on Aug. 17, 2025, the DEP stated.

Through follow-up investigation, the department said about 16,000 gallons of wastewater was released from the 26,000 gallon storage tank, with upwards of 8,000 gallons of that being outside of the tank’s containment area and into a building on site.

DEP regularly has kept the media informed on the progress at the Second Street and Catawissa Avenue facilities as well as one in Bradford County.

Most recently, on Jan. 22, the department conducted a follow-up inspection at the Second Street facility where James Ertel was present, according to the document. The department was represented by Dustan Karschner, environmental protection specialist. The department found that the N3 tank of the facility had a sampling port that broke, resulting in a portion of the contents of the tank to release to the facility floor and containment. The tank was entirely holding waste oil.

Total waste removal since beginning on Oct. 27 for the Second Street and Catawissa Avenue facilities was listed at 42,760 barrels or 1,795,920 gallons of wastewater for disposal and an additional 26,040 gallons of waste oil for recycling.

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.

Wastewater that was in one of the external white tanks at the east side of the facility has been emptied out now, Karschner’s report stated.

Inside the facility the majority of the nine N tanks have been drawn down to about a foot or less and any oil from them consolidated into the N2 tank. The A and B tanks have remained relatively unchanged with a combination of water, oil and sludge in them.

The facility is 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. That is being placed in the CB tanks. An absorbent was added to the empty B side tanks to help firm up the remaining solids and fluids in them for removal and disposal.

An Administrative Order had been filed for Eureka as of Aug. 19 for the Second Street facility to clean up and remove all waste from the site within 30 days. The violation for not complying with the order remains outstanding, the report stated.

A Notice of Violation was sent requesting completion of waste removal at the facility by Jan. 31. The facility is working to meet that time frame.

Also, the department conducted a routine inspection at the facility at the Catawissa Avenue location for the storage of waste water from the natural gas industry. Ertel was present to represent the company. The facility is under an Administrative Order to remove the waste from the site within 90 days of Aug. 1, 2025.

The department visited the site and said there is a loading/unloading pad and building, as well as a 1.5 million gallon storage tank. Wastewater has continued to be removed from the tank, which is nearly empty, according to the inspection report.

The tank level monitors read 5.1 feet and 5.2 feet. Transition has occurred to a reuse location closer to the area beginning last week and so emptying the tank should be completed within a few days, the report stated.

The remaining wastewater in the tank has higher solids content so that is being sent first to the Second Street facility to remove some solids prior to reuse.

Due to the facility surpassing what was imposed as a 90-day timeline in an Administrative Order, the facility is in violation of Act 97 for non-compliance with an order of the DEP.

In addition, a Notice of Violation was sent requesting completion of the project by Jan. 31.

The department recommended the facility continue to remove wastewater from the site for disposal or reuse in order to empty the facility of waste.