Accidents | Bradford County | Energy Services | Eureka Resources | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater
Eureka Proposes Plan to Clean Up, Close All 3 PA Wastewater Plants
On August 17, Eureka Resources’ Williamsport Second Street facility (one of the three previously operated by Eureka) leaked some of its stored untreated wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see ‘Black Goop’ Spills into Susquehanna River from Closed Eureka Plant). That event led to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection launching an investigation into all three of Eureka’s shuttered plants, two in Williamsport (Lycoming County), and one in Bradford County. The DEP found untreated wastewater stored at each facility—over 4.6 million gallons in total—and has demanded Eureka dispose of it within 90 days. Read More “Eureka Proposes Plan to Clean Up, Close All 3 PA Wastewater Plants”
For the week of September 1 – 7, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica decreased from the previous week. There were 11 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, down from 19 issued two weeks ago (and way down from 30 issued three weeks ago). Pennsylvania issued just three new permits, with one each going to Expand Energy, EQT Corporation, and Range Resources in Bradford, Greene, and Washington counties, respectively. 
On September 8, Blackhill Energy informed the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of an “inadvertent return” that occurred during horizontal drilling for the Brad-Tenn Loop Pipeline in Granville Township, Bradford County. Blackhill reported that while drilling beneath Route 6 and Sugar Creek, they experienced a pressure issue. The company discovered that 18,000 gallons (approximately 430 barrels) of nontoxic bentonite drilling mud had been lost. The company stopped drilling ops at that point and reported it to the DEP. 
Eureka Resources and its now shuttered three frack wastewater treatment plants continue to be under the microscope of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In August, one of the three facilities, located in Williamsport, PA (Lycoming County), leaked some of its stored untreated wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the August 23 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 57 general water use permits in June and July for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Clearfield, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 282 general water use permits for shale gas development. 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC also tells shale drillers when to stop withdrawing if low water flow (i.e., drought) conditions exist. And that’s what the SRBC did earlier today. The agency, via its Hydrologic Conditions Monitor, warned shale drillers that, at 47 listed locations (all in Pennsylvania), they must stop water withdrawals until streamflow reaches a specific “trigger flow” target (different for each location). 
In late 2022, MDN told you that Canadian-based Enerplus, with sizable non-operated assets in the northeast Pennsylvania Marcellus, had sold certain Canadian assets so it could concentrate most of its activity on drilling in the North Dakota Bakken (see 
We had heard rumors that the LNG liquefaction plant planned by New Fortress Energy (NFE) for Wyalusing in Bradford County, PA, was being dropped in favor of an alternative. Namely, a gas-fired power plant project. We can now confirm that the rumors are true. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published notice in the July 12 PA Bulletin inviting comments on an air permit for the proposed 248 megawatt (MW) Wyalusing Energy Center, a natural gas-fired power plant in Wyalusing Township, to be used to power a data center. The power plant permit is for the exact location where the LNG liquefaction plant was planned. 
The highly functional and responsible Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike its highly dysfunctional and irresponsible counterpart, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), continues to support the shale energy industry by approving water withdrawals and consumptive use for responsible and safe shale drilling. The SRBC published a notice in the June 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin that the Executive Director of the SRBC renewed 38 general water use permits in May for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Cameron, Clearfield, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Tioga, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. So far in 2025, the SRBC has issued or renewed 225 general water use permits for shale gas development. 
Alice, get ready to go down the rabbit hole into litigation Wonderland. This post is about a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued on May 30, 2025. In the case Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Game Commission v. Thomas E. Proctor Heirs Trust, the PA Supremes addressed a question from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether a 1908 tax sale of an “unseated” (undeveloped) parcel of land, the Haines Warrant, constituted a “title wash” that divested the subsurface estate owners of their ownership interest. We think the case has broader implications for landowners and drillers with respect to who owns mineral rights that have been separated from surface rights.