Faster action is sought for lead-tainted Blue Hole Creek in Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh — A once-pristine southwestern Pennsylvania trout stream has been dropped from the state stocking schedule because of lead contamination from a nearby shooting range, as environmentalists call for faster enforceable action against the polluter.

Blue Hole Creek, once an Exceptional Value waterway in the Youghiogheny River watershed, is now listed as impaired by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Last year, DEP found “significant” quantities of lead in runoff from Highland Sporting Clays, a three-course range owned by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting.

Citing impairment, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission board voted in January to discontinue stocking Blue Hole, which had received about 300 trout in season every spring. Located in Somerset County within Forbes State Forest, Blue Hole supports wild trout.

The formerly stocked section runs for 1.4 miles from the confluence of Garys Run downstream to the mouth.

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Highland Ventures LLC, manager of the shooting range, was issued a notice of violation last July for failing to comply with federally outlined Shooting Range Stewardship Best Management Practices, and given two months to provide DEP with a mitigation plan.

A consent order and agreement with enforceable obligations, deadlines, reporting requirements, and possible civil penalties was expected to follow.

If one has been drafted it is not being shared, said Eric Harder, Youghiogheny River Waterkeeper for the Mountain Watershed Association, which brought the lead issue to light last summer.

“The consent order was supposed to happen last fall and we’re still waiting. That it hasn’t been issued by now is frustrating.”

DEP spokesman Brandon Glass said his agency’s investigation into the pollution remains active and DEP “cannot comment on settlement discussions.”

“Highland Ventures has removed shooting-related debris from the three gun ranges and has done preliminary sampling to determine the extent of the contamination,” said Glass, who indicated that the company is in pause mode until spring.

“Winter weather has prevented any further activities at the sites but recent correspondence from Highland Ventures states that they have temporarily suspended shooting on all three courses, beginning Jan. 19, 2026, and through to April 1, 2026, to allow for maximum accessibility to conduct the remediation.”

Lead in Blue Hole Creek, which once was considered clean enough to drink from, was more than 400 times higher than a level deemed acceptable, last year. Other metals, including cadmium, aluminum, zinc and manganese, also were detected.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources erected signage along the stream urging hikers to avoid the water, and removed handles from pumps the public could use to extract water.

“DCNR will continue coordinating with DEP as remediation moves forward to ensure public safety and protect natural resources,” said DCNR spokesman Wesley Robinson.

There is no safe level of lead, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which cites serious health effects, including heart and kidney disease, as well as lower IQ and developmental delays in children.

DEP received complaints about impacts from Highland as early as 2021.

Initial water quality testing indicated contamination with Blue Hole in 2023, Harder said. “That’s when DEP should have had all of these issues addressed.”

Lead has impacted hatch life on the stream, with Mountain Watershed finding too few macroinvertebrates to even index, Harder said.

Recent surveys of the impaired section conducted by the Fish & Boat Commission did not produce many fish, agency spokesman Mike Parker said, noting that “the only species observed were wild brook trout and mottled sculpin, both native coldwater species.”