GCSAA and its allies in the golf industry and other sectors of the economy continue to advocate in Washington for a better version of the 2015 Clean Water Rule ("WOTUS"). GCSAA has consistently argued that, if implemented, WOTUS would have harmed the $84-billion-a-year golf industry by bringing nearly every river, stream, creek, wetland, pond, ditch and ephemeral in the U.S. under the federal jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.

The Trump Administration has delayed the implementation of WOTUS until 2020, to provide enough time to write a replacement rule that defines in a more specific and limited fashion which "waters of the United States" will fall under federal jurisdiction and that are left to the states to regulate. The two-year delay was prompted by a recent Supreme Court decision that invalidated a stay of WOTUS by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. GCSAA is working hard to make sure that this language considers how waters is already being protected on golf facilities.

Recent efforts

The withdrawal of WOTUS and its replacement were the topics of discussion of two recent meetings with GCSAA and Executive Branch personnel. The Government Affairs Committee and GCSAA staff met with EPA personnel as part of National Golf Day advocacy efforts in Washington. A number of issues were discussed that impact golf, including how WOTUS was being replaced. Bob Helland, GCSAA director of congressional and federal affairs, continued that dialogue with Administration officials as part of a recent meeting with other members of the Waters Advocacy Coalition. The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are expected to publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on the withdrawal of the WOTUS rule soon.

Congress

Congress has acted as well, most recently as part of the debate on the reauthorization of the Farm Bill. The House of Representatives included an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) that would repeal WOTUS outright. GCSAA has long opposed WOTUS and much of the activity to replace it with a better version has been at the Administration level. This amendment would leapfrog any executive action. GCSAA supported this amendment, which was approved by a 238-173 vote that included 13 Democrats voting in favor. However, the Farm Bill was defeated, if only temporarily, by concerns about restrictions on the Food Stamp program by House Democrats and on immigration concerns unrelated to the bill by House Republicans. In addition, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development has included WOTUS repeal language in its Fiscal Year 2019 spending bill. 

What's next on a replacement rule?

Work continues at the EPA on a better rule to replace WOTUS. The White House has spelled out a timeline for replacement in its Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda). It indicates that a proposed new WOTUS Rule will be issued in August 2018 and the final rule in September 2019. Expect  GCSAA to continue to advocate on golf’s behalf as WOTUS is re-written.