Public Herald

03/18/2026

After choosing a benchmark established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that wasn’t meant to assess risk to human health from radioactivity in landfill leachate, the agency came to bold conclusions. https://scoop.publicherald.org/p/state-investigation-finds-all-pennsylvania?r=b7r7s&triedRedirect=true

In this case, DEP discretion manufactured what it considered safe, not necessarily establishing, by way of public input or congressional approval, regulations that would best apply for safe discharges of radium to public waterways.
..when EPA assessed the risk of regulated radioactive industrial discharges to public waters, it used a number 200 hundred times lower than DEP’s 600 pCi/L for what’s considered a safe radioactive benchmark for human health.

DEP’s report stated that because landfill leachate is subject to further treatment, like a sewage facility, before discharge, DEP “can conclude that there is currently no concern” with combined radium in treated discharges to groundwater or surface waters.

This places DEP at odds with a foremost expert on this issue.

In 2019, Public Herald spoke with Duke geochemist Dr. Avner Vengosh who told our team that a sewage authority is “not capable of treating radioactive material in fracking waste,” and that in leachate from fracking waste he would expect “salts, metals, and radioactive elements” none of which would be “retained or removed through conventional wastewater treatment plants.”

Pennsylvania Regulators Chose A Number 200 Times Greater Than EPA's

01/25/2026

01/16/2026

Over a million gallons of the radioactive wastewater, once held at Eureka Resources in Williamsport Pa. for treatment, has now been trucked to Kleese Disposal in Ohio — full story: https://open.substack.com/pub/natocracy/p/ohio-is-left-holding-pennsylvanias?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Pennsylvania DEP has provided Public Herald with a limited update on Eureka Resources ongoing waste removal at its three sites — two in Williamsport and one in Bradford County — but failed to answer Public Herald’s core questions about radioactive testing.

DEP shared that its Waste Management Program issued Notices of Violation on January 8, 2026 for all three Eureka facilities, citing noncompliance with prior enforcement actions and warning of escalated enforcement if the waste is not removed by the end of January. Links to those DEP records are included at the end of this article.

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“This is a permanent reactor near your house..."

09/12/2025

When we told Eric Steppe, former Eureka worker turned whistleblower, about the latest numbers change, he said: https://scoop.publicherald.org/p/twenty-six-days-later-dep-logs-cleanup?r=b7r7s

“They are bold-faced liars. That’s how they’ve stayed afloat for so long. Burning every bridge laid for them. On occasion I was sent to try and repair something and 4 out of 5 times was told the hardware store or auto parts store was freezing Eureka’s accounts until their debts are paid in full. That’s one of the reasons everything in that hell hole was duct-taped and zip-tied together.”

DEP cautioned that these numbers are “preliminary” and not reviewed. Allowing the company to define the scope of its own disaster raises the risk that penalties will be quietly reduced.

A further danger lies in the way radium-226 can become more radioactive over time inside storage tanks — a process called radioactive ingrowth.

Here’s what Dr. Daniel Bain, a research professor at University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Geology and Environmental Science who studies radioactivity, had to say about it:

“The problem with all radiation is that it continues to decay and the decay products can be worse than the parent products. Over time it has the potential to turn into something that’s able to admit even more intense ionizing radiation, so you want to avoid that and keep it separate from humans, animals and the entire system.”

“There’s a lot of radium associated with all this and if it doesn’t get put somewhere safe people are going to get hurt. It’s an astonishing amount. Right now they're dumping it on roads in the summer and DEP knows about it and isn’t doing a damn thing. They’re dumping it in landfills and it’s slowly making its way out. And by the time this all gets out it will be too late. In the long run, if it’s delayed by 20 years, you’ve got 20 years of mess to clean up.”

"There’s a lot of radium associated with all this and if it doesn’t get put somewhere safe people are going to get hurt."

09/02/2025

Two Weeks On, Waste Still on the Floor & Seeping out of the Walls: DEP Tightens Grip on Eureka After Susquehanna Spill Issuing [Small] Fines » https://scoop.publicherald.org/p/oil-in-the-walls-booms-in-the-drains?r=b7r7s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

On September 2, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) contacted Public Herald with the following update that includes new fines for Eureka Resources:

(Photos & Records included in the report)

Two Weeks On, Waste Still on the Floor: DEP Tightens Grip on Eureka After Susquehanna Spill

08/22/2025

DEP has sent the following update about Eureka Resources spill into the West Fork of the Susquehanna to Public Herald, which included 8 documents...Public Herald investigations have shown that while the DEP may test or monitor leachate coming out of facilities handling TENORM and affected groundwater, the type of testing used at landfills or sewage plants to monitor for ‘hot’ loads of waste isn’t capable of producing accurate measurements for radium unless it’s measuring with gamma spectroscopy in a minimum 21 day window. In this case, trying to determine the dangerous levels of radium-226 in an instant wouldn’t be possible.

DEP has sent the following update about Eureka Resources spill into the West Fork of the Susquehanna to Public Herald, which included 8 documents:

08/21/2025

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.

Across 30 pages, nowhere does DEP mention radioactivity. This omission is more than an oversight — in this case it’s a public health cover-up for those directly exposed to the spill.

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

On August 20, Regional Communications Manager, Megan Lehman, told Public Herald “DEP continues to oversee the cleanup activities, but it is too early in the process to determine a timeframe on how long the full cleanup of the site will take.”

Pittsburgh residents may not drink from the Susquehanna — but radioactive fracking waste still remains a risk flowing toward their taps.

READ THE FULL BREAKDOWN OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AT EUREKA ON PUBLIC HERALD ⬇️

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.

08/19/2025

“We were constantly having to fix those tanks from leaking,” Steppe told Public Herald. “This never should have happened. Someone needs to shut them down and remove everything in there.”

DEP’s investigation found that approximately 16,000 gallons of wastewater was released from the 26,000 gal 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, in response to ongoing questions from Public Herald about our 2024 investigation, says Eureka has chosen to no longer accept waste at their facilities. So at the time of the spill the Williamsport treatment site was not operating. The company’s decision came shortly after whistleblowers spoke with Public Herald about environmental crimes committed by Eureka, and called for the attorney general to investigate the issue.

Despite DEP learning of these concerning reports and later confirming them through inspections, the state chose not to withdraw Eureka’s permits.

On January 29, 2025 the company entered into a Consent Order & Agreement (COA) with the state, which allowed them to continue to be fully permitted by DEP as a wastewater operator, storing radioactive fluids in tanks on-site even though no treatment is happening.

In an email to Public Herald, DEP said “[the] COA allows for DEP to hold Eureka accountable and pursue any remedy available for a violation of an order of the Department. DEP’s top priority is protecting Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to clean air, pure water, and access to safe and healthy environment. DEP continues to conduct sampling as specified in the applicable regulations.”

According to DEP records obtained by Public Herald, Eureka had violated parts of this agreement for both monitoring and reporting to the state shortly after it was created.

Public Herald has been contacted by 5 Eureka Resources workers who are sharing stories about the dangers of treating fracking wastewater.

01/11/2025

Eric Steppe, whose “I turned blue” story made its way in front of a state senator’s press conference, shares part of his encounter with the PA Attorney General’s investigation team in this Public Herald Members only post

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06/06/2024

Congratulations Public Herald co-founder Melissa Troutman on Two Emmy Nominations! Watch the new film 'Lake Erie, Our Kin' (Part 1 & 2) covering on

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01/09/2024

“We don’t talk about that. Don’t you ever talk about that.”

Read the exclusive report & listen to the podcast »
https://publicherald.org/i-turned-blue-workers-share-horrifying-experiences-treating-fracking-wastewater/

☢️ This Public Herald investigation continues into 2024... Donate to our Patreon as we take on industry disinformation.

Music by Sonora Music

12/17/2023

“I got seriously dizzy. I felt like I was vibrating and everything turned blue. Like everything I was looking at was bluish, [it all] had a bluish hue to it.”

☢ podcast & story: https://publicherald.org/i-turned-blue-workers-share-horrifying-experiences-treating-fracking-wastewater/

“So I got up and I walked over to a post and leaned up against it with my head down. I don’t know how long I was there, but I felt awful. And my coworker Dalton comes over to me and asks me if I’m all right. And I looked up at him and said, no. And that’s when I noticed everything was blue. And he said, you’re blue. He goes, dude, you look awful. And I said, I need to sit down. ” He said, do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

Photo: Eric Steppe in the backyard of his home holding the soiled work pants he wore on the day of the accident. (Note: the work pants were washed after the accident) © Steven Rubin for Public Herald

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