What's WOTUS?

WOTUS. What is it? Have you heard of it? Do you know anything about it? If not, then let's learn. It falls under the umbrella of government relations, which isn't typically the top contender for categories that people are chomping at the bit to get involved in. However, government relations in our industry is absolutely, positively, undoubtedly necessary. And in this case, pretty urgent.

Let's start from the top -- WOTUS stands for Waters Of The US; the definition contained within the Clean Water Act that dictates the parameters of EPA's jurisdiction over public waters (e.g., lakes, streams, oceans and bays). And right now, there are proposed changes to the language contained in WOTUS. Changes that, if implemented, would have significant managerial and fiscal effects on our industry.

In short, the proposed changes are very vague in language and open to interpretation. If the changes are approved, this could mean the EPA has jurisdiction over an area that has flowing water at any point throughout the year. In other words, if you get a 3-inch rain storm and have runoff flowing across 7 fairway, then that land suddenly falls under the jurisdiction of the EPA. So what does that mean? It means costly permits and susceptibility to huge fines -- up to $37,000 per day. We believe that EPA is overstepping its boundaries with these suggested amendments, and we want to stop it. Please visit GCSAA's Government Relations portal and submit a request for your senator to co-sponsor a bill that would stop these proposed changes. Believe me, this is a BIG deal, and GCSAA has done all the leg-work in providing a template request that just requires some information on your behalf. 

GCSAA is very closely tracking this issue, and we have some strong allies who are also lobbying against these erroneous changes. Please do your part and take action on behalf of yourself, your employer, and the rest of our industry. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter, and please feel free to reach out should you have any questions regarding this issue.