Plans to build an experimental hatchery in Elk County that would raise trout using treated mine water have encountered a new obstacle. A Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission committee has apparently recommended that the agency not contribute any money to the project, as it had promised more than a year ago. The Toby Creek Watershed Association — which counts Bill Sabatose, a Fish and Boat Commissioner from Elk County, as its president — is the group that’s been working to build what is known as the Blue Valley hatchery. The idea has been to find a way to clean up polluted water and raise fish in a facility that would generate little waste by recirculating water through the hatchery again and again. Once constructed, the facility was to be turned over to the Fish and Boat Commission to operate. The water treatment side of the facility is being built now at a cost of $1.3 million. The watershed association has that money. What it doesn’t have is the money to build the hatchery side of the project. Sabatose put the price tag at $2.9 million “and not a penny more.” He’s been hoping to get $1.7 million of that from the Fish and Boat Commission. Commission president Sam Concilla of Erie County doesn’t expect the board to make it available, though. He said that no matter what the final cost of building the facility — which he thinks will be higher than Sabatose’s estimate — it’s just not a good deal for the agency. “The payback is not worth it,” Concilla said. “We can’t spend the sportsmen’s money that way. It’s just not economically feasible.” The Fish and Boat Commission can borrow its share of the money needed to build Blue Valley. Senate BIll 1213, signed into law Oct. 30, 2002, gave the commission the authority to borrow $13.8 million to fund improvements to five existing hatcheries and contribute to the construction of Blue Valley. Commissioners have proven loathe to go that route, however. Though the commission actively pursued the authority to secure those loans under former executive director Pete Colangelo, it’s yet to borrow a single dollar. That’s not likely to change, Concilla said. Borrowing the $13.8 million would commit the commission to an annual payback on the loan of $900,000. That’s too steep, he said. The commission needs some form of free money — whether it be from the Growing Greener II environmental bond initiative proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell, the Republican version of that bill, or some other permanent, non-license funding stream — before it can begin to make major infrastructure improvements. Even then, though, there might not be any money for Blue Valley. “Even if someone gave up $100 million, we couldn’t afford to do Blue Valley,” Concilla said. “I can see advantages to it as a co-op nursery, but not as a state-owned hatchery, in my point of view.” Dan Tredinnick, press secretary for the Fish and Boat Commission, agreed there are concerns about what it would cost to take on another hatchery, even if Blue Valley gets built. “It’s one thing to build it, but once you build it, you have to continue to operate it. That issue, in many regards, is as critical, if not more critical for us on the Fish and Boat Commission side, that simply building the structure,” Tredinnick said. Sabatose, though, remains devoted to seeing the project completed. “It’s full steam ahead. I’m not stopping,” Sabatose said. “I’ll do this as a watershed association person if I have to.”

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---