Kelly Snavely

Codorus Creek flows under the Schock’s Mill bridge into the Susquehanna River in the new Susquehanna Riverlands State Park in York County.

A water quality watchdog is threatening legal action against a York County scrap yard for allegedly polluting a creek that empties into the Susquehanna River.

The Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association on Monday filed a notice of intent in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to sue J&K Salvage in York over “unauthorized discharges of pollutants into Codorus Creek and improper handling of solid waste.”

The Riverkeeper Association said the automobile salvage yard has been releasing pollution into Codorus Creek for more than three months without a permit. The group said the pollutants include metals and PFAS chemicals. PFAS, an abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often described as forever chemicals because they are capable of lingering indefinitely in the environment.

Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Ted Evgeniadis these contaminants do not belong in public water resources.

“These acts harm downstream public users of the Codorus Creek watershed including wildlife and aquatic life and must be stopped immediately,” Evgeniadis said.

The group is calling on J&K Salvage to take immediate action to achieve compliance with all federal and state environmental pollution prevention laws.

Under the Clean Water Act, the notice begins a 60-day period, during which the salvage yard can address issues. If no action is taken after 60 days, the association said it intends to pursue a lawsuit in federal court.

According to the notice, J&K Salvage has a history of pollution violations with the state Department of Environmental Protection. It previously held a permit to discharge waste at four outflow locations along Codorus Creek and an unnamed tributary to the creek.

The company’s water pollution discharge permit expired in November. In a letter to DEP in January, J&K Salvage acknowledged it was operating without a permit and would continue to do so for some time, according to the notice.

The Riverkeeper Association tested Codorus Creek and outflows from the facility several times between February 2022 and October 2024. The group found pollutants not allowed by J&K’s permit, including arsenic, lead, lithium and PFAS.

According to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Lower Susquehanna Region is critical to drinking water supplies. It said more than 1.7 million people are dependent on both ground and surface water sources within the region. Another 2.2 million people in the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas also depend on the Susquehanna River as a source of drinking water.