The action follows earlier Fish and Boat Commission decisions classifying the streams as Class A Wild Trout Streams, recognizing them among the Commonwealth’s highest-quality cold-water fisheries.
DEP listed streams in these counties as given increased protection: Berks, Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Elk, Erie, Forest, Franklin, Indiana, Jefferson, Lehigh, Lycoming, Lurzerne, McKean, Mifflin, Monroe, Northampton, Perry, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Tioga, Venango and York.
The newly protected waterways include nearly 340 stream miles within Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed-- the first stream redesignations under Governor Josh Shapiro’s leadership as Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council.
The action comes as Pennsylvania has earned its highest Chesapeake Bay watershed health grade in more than two decades, reflecting continued progress to restore and protect the Susquehanna River and downstream waterways.
“Pennsylvania is home to some of the best trout fishing and most beautiful waterways anywhere in the country, and today’s action helps ensure these streams remain clean and protected for future generations,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “By redesignating these streams as High Quality Waters, we are strengthening safeguards against pollution, protecting critical habitats, and supporting outdoor recreation and local economies across the Commonwealth.”
“Ensuring high water quality is vital to preserving and maintaining the wild trout fisheries these streams support,” said PFBC Executive Director Tim Schaeffer. “These protections will help conserve some of Pennsylvania’s most valuable natural resources while expanding recreational opportunities for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts.”
High Quality Waters are streams, rivers, and lakes that meet exceptionally high water quality standards and support healthy aquatic ecosystems and warrant stronger regulatory protections to ensure that they retain those benefits.
Under the redesignation, any future development or discharge permits impacting these waterways will be subject to stricter environmental protections to maintain existing water quality conditions.
DEP’s final regulation was approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission and will now be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for final federal approval and implementation through DEP permitting and regulatory programs.
Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation industry generates billions in economic activity annually and supports thousands of jobs statewide, with fishing, boating, hiking, and tourism relying heavily on clean, healthy waterways.
How Streams Are Protected
[High Quality and Exceptional Value streams are protected through considerations in several water quality permitting programs.
[The water quality in High Quality streams can be lowered only if a discharge is the result of necessary social or economic development, the water quality criteria are met, and all existing uses of the stream are protected.
[Exceptional Value waters are to be protected at their existing quality; water quality shall not be lowered.]
Visit DEP’s Stream Redesignations webpage to learn more about this program.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP: Increased Protections For More Than 530 Miles Of 98 Streams Now Final [PaEN]
-- Register Now! Choose Clean Water Coalition 2026 Choose Clean Water Conference Set For May 18-20 In Lancaster [PaEN]
-- Native Garden At Wissahickon High School, Montgomery County Thrives Thanks To Work Of Master Watershed Steward Erin Crump [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Awards $6.4 Million In Grants For 19 Local Drought Resiliency Projects Saving 1.5 Billion Gallons Of Water Annually [PaEN]
-- Delaware RiverKeeper Network Hosts May 27 Webinar On Biosolids And Sewage Sludge Impacts On Farms In Pennsylvania [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension June 9 Webinar On Creating Connections Through Citizen - Community Science [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts June 12 In-Person Field To Data - Environmental Stream Health Monitoring In Action Workshop In Huntingdon County [PaEN]
Public Participation
-- DEP Invites Comments On Section 401 Water Quality Certification For Eastern Gas Transmission 20-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline In Salem Twp., Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- DEP To Host June 2 Informal Conference, Hearing On Permit To Add 4,342 Acres To Rosebud Clymer A Coal Mine In Cherryhill Twp., Indiana County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permit Amendment To Correct Wetlands Impacts For Homer City Generation Data Center Project In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Water Quality Permit For Transmission Line Project To Connect Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant To Grid In Dauphin County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For PPL Utilities Juniata-Shermansdale, Juniata-Bernheisel High Voltage Transmission Line Projects In Perry, Cumberland Counties To Serve Data Centers In Middlesex Twp. [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- LancasterOnline: Janus School Students Release Trout Into Little Chiques Creek From Trout In The Classroom Program
-- Inquirer - Andrew Seidman: Inside Merck’s Lobbying Of Gov. Shapiro’s Office To Ease Water Pollution Reporting Regulation [DEP Abandoned Revisions]
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Field Project Examines What ‘Thriving Ag’ Could Look Like In The Future
-- NRCS-PA Emergency Watershed Protection Program Disaster Recovery After Hurricane Debby In Pennsylvania
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Pennsylvania Again Led Nation In Dam Removals For 2025
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Others Challenge EPA Repeal Of Climate Endangerment Finding
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Adams County Facility To Burn Chicken Manure To Generate Energy, Reduce Nitrogen Sits Idle For Nearly A Decade
-- Scranton Times: Lakeland School District To Install Treatment System To Address PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination Of Drinking Water
-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Names Katie Cassidy New Deputy Director
-- Scranton Times: Lakeland School District To Install Treatment System To Address PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination Of Drinking Water
-- Scranton Times: Keystone Landfill To Produce Much More Leachate Wastewater Than Expected
-- Stroud Water Research Center UpStream News: Boots-In-The-Water; Whose Mud Is It? From Stream Sensors To Bee Hives
-- PA Capital-Star: PA Turnpike Plan To Cut An Open Gash In The Allegheny Mountain To Bypass Tunnel Draws Opposition In Somerset County
-- Tribune-Democrat: Group Takes Fight Against PA Turnpike Proposal To Make A Massive Cut Thru The Allegheny Mountain To Harrisburg: ‘We Won’t Be Ignored’
-- Post-Gazette: Group Fighting PA Turnpike Plan To Cut Massive Slash Thru Allegheny Mountain
-- PennLive: Group Fights PA Turnpike Plan To Cut Massive Slash Thru Allegheny Mountain: ‘Scar On The Landscape’
-- The Appalachian Voice: Many Federal Permitting ‘Reform’ Proposals Would Further Strip Environmental Protections, Weaken Public Input
[Posted: May 9, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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