Unlawful Fracking Waste Operations Found at Eureka — & The Radioactive Threat To Pittsburgh’s Water

Inspectors found 1.38 million gallons of waste stored in 70 tanks for over a year before the spill, making it an illegal disposal facility

Read the full report & documents from DEP at Public Herald »

On August 18, 2025, residents of Williamsport, PA, saw a sheen of radioactive fracking wastewater floating on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River that was traced to a spill of 16,000 gallons of wastewater stored by Eureka Resources at their Second Street facility.

While Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) responded swiftly to the discovery — the agency erased a dire health hazard in their documents about the spill. Across 30 pages of findings, nowhere does DEP mention radioactivity, despite over a decade of Public Herald reporting showing that radium, a cancer-causing substance, is a constant contaminant in Marcellus Shale waste. This omission is more than an oversight — in this case it’s a public health cover-up for those directly exposed to the spill.

DEP’s Administrative Order for Eureka Resources

The DEP’s Administrative Order dated August 19, 2025, is followed by a cover letter, delivered by DEP Waste Program Manager Lisa Houser to Eureka that opens with formal violations:

“Enclosed is an Administrative Order … for violations of the Solid Waste Management Act … and of the Clean Streams Law.” (DEP Cover Letter, August 19, 2025)

Inside the Administrative Order it describes how the site was already found to be in disrepair by DEP and in violation of its COA from January 2025. Inspectors found 1.38 million gallons of waste stored in 70 tanks for over a year before the spill, making it an illegal disposal facility, and tanks that were improperly maintained.

“Because Eureka stored oil and gas liquid waste for longer than a year at the Site without approval by the Department, the Site is a ‘solid waste’ and ‘residual waste’ ‘disposal facility.’”

That means Eureka was not just treating waste. By law, it was operating an unpermitted disposal facility — a direct violation of Pennsylvania’s Solid Waste Management Act.

There were also high-level alarms “disconnected or inoperable,” and a tank named “Tank B8” lacked sufficient freeboard.

Read the full report & documents from DEP at Public Herald »