Shooting range is polluting stream, state says

BY JOE NAPSHA

Pellets fired at clay targets blamed for lead in Laurel Highlands

Spent shot from a sporting clays shooting range near Seven Springs Resort in Somerset County might be causing high lead levels in a Laurel Highlands stream, state environmental regulators said.

State environmental investigators believe the lead pellets that fall to the ground after they’re fired at clay targets at Highlands Sporting Clays on Teal Drive are the source of elevated pollution levels in nearby Blue Hole Creek in Middlecreek Township. The investigation into the pollution is continuing with coordination among the Department of Environmental Protection’s waste management and clean water bureaus, along with Highlands Sporting Clays, said Laina Aquilline, a DEP spokeswoman in Pittsburgh.

Water samples by the Mountain Watershed Association showed there was 370 micrograms per liter of lead, said Eric Harder, Youghiogheny riverkeeper. Aluminum levels also were high, along with cadmium, manganese and zinc, according to the watershed.

Highlands Ventures LLC, parent company of Highlands Sporting Clays, operates golf courses at Seven Springs and Hidden Valley resorts and an upscale market and real estate property at Seven Springs, according to its website. Bob Nutting, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, completed the sale of the skiing facilities to Vail Resorts in December 2021 for $118 million but retained the golf courses, sport shooting site and real estate businesses.

The state Department of Environmental Protection

sent a notice of violation to Highlands Sporting Clays on July 11 that said the shooting range had failed to implement the “best management practices” as outlined in a federal Environmental Protection Agency document to prevent off-site pollution.

“It’s one thing to impact the stream for wildlife, but when there’s public health to the extent of nearly 400 times of the recommended level for drinking water, it just really rings home,” Harder told TribLive in May.

The creek starts at the top of Laurel Ridge near Seven Springs Ski Resort. It passes over the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail and flows under a gravel road in Forbes State Forest that is popular with cyclists, anglers and snowmobile riders.

Highlands Sporting Clays must develop a plan to mitigate the lead pollution impacting the creek and submit it to the state within 60 days, according to the notice. The state wants the facility to identify how it will prevent metal and contaminated runoff. The business also must document its activities for the environmental regulators.

“We are working closely with the DEP to develop a comprehensive plan that meets all outlined requirements. Over the past two months, we have made extensive progress in site cleanup and soil remediation,” said Katie Buchan, a spokeswoman for Highlands Ventures LLC.

The stormwater runoff from three shooting ranges at Highlands Sporting Clays flows into ponds with outlets into the headwaters of Blue Hole Creek, said Eric Harder, the Youghiogheny riverkeeper for the Mountain Watershed Association, a Melcroft-based environmental organization that found pollutants in water samples taken from the creek.

“Highlands (Sporting Clays) could have been more active in their stewardship plan” for preventing the spent lead balls and broken clay targets from polluting the headwaters of the stream, Harder said.

The DEP is working on a consent order with Highlands Ventures regarding the lead on the firing ranges and the polluted runoff, Harder said. The DEP’s Aquilline said the department would not comment on settlement negotiations with Highlands.

The environmental activist organization tested the stream after discovering brown foam along the waterway and pale-colored rocks, Harder said. The DEP clean water biologists did an initial survey of Blue Hole Creek in 2022 after receiving a complaint about a milky white color in the stream in 2021, according to Aquilline. A comprehensive evaluation of the stream was conducted in 2023 and 2024.

The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail that runs from Ohiopyle north to Seward crosses the stream, and signs warn people not to drink the water and not to swim in a popular Blue Hole swimming area along the creek. The water from Blue Hole Creek flows into other streams that feed Laurel Hill Creek, which meets the Youghiogheny River at Confluence in southern Somerset County.

Joe Napsha is a TribLive staff writer. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.