The need to update you on the EPA and Army Corp of Engineers
proposed changes to “Waters of the U.S.” is great, but honestly I have focused
on that frequently in many newsletters lately.
So this time I go off topic, sort of.
What I will focus on the unseen value GCSAA brings to you. Not from my perspective, but from that of a GCSAA
Class A member. How does a member go from newly appointed chapter president to
an invited guest for a meeting with EPA District 1 within six days? Let us look at a timeline on how that
happened and where value plays a role:
- June 9-11: GCSAA’s
Chava McKeel, associate director, government relations attended meetings
in Washington, D.C., relating to Clean Water Act, pesticide regulations,
labor issues and more.
- June 13: The Vermont
Agency of Agriculture representative contacted McKeel (the connection was
made earlier that week in D.C.), informing her of an EPA site visit to
Vermont to discuss proposed changes to the “Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS).”
They asked if there was a GCSAA representative who could attend?
- June 14-16:
Communications continued through weekend and into early following week.
- June 17: I was
invited to the meeting.
- June 18: Board of
Directors meeting with VtGCSA, which was GCSAA Class A member Jason
Shattie’s first as chapter president.
During the meeting, an Email arrived offering an invitation for a
Vermont superintendent to participate in the EPA meeting. Shattie, as president, accepted the
invitation
- June 23: McKeel and
I discussed WOTUS and the ramifications on the golf industry via
conference call.
- June 24: EPA
Meeting Day. Shattie and I met at his facility (Burlington Country Club)
in the early afternoon to discuss WOTUS and the ramifications to his facility
and the golf industry. That evening, approximately 40 people met with EPA
and Vermont State Department of Agriculture at University of Vermont.
- June 25: I followed
up with a visit to BCC during a rain event registering over 1.0 inches of
precipitation.
Shattie’s Burlington CC is not unlike many golf courses
across the country. The property is part
of a storm water runoff plan, including the surrounding neighborhood and the
adjacent UVM campus. This increased flow
of water during periods of average and above-average rainfall causes more than
the usual issues when it rains. The proposed changes to WOTUS are destined to
create a significant burden at BCC. The
inclusion of these “ephemeral waters” may create an issue at most golf
courses. Originally designed to move
water off the playing surfaces to underground drainage, surface drainage
ditches, or into small waterways through out of play areas, these areas may now
require a federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit to apply chemicals to. In
Shattie’s case, both of the following pictures represent areas that could fit
the above profile:
Both areas require the responsible use of pesticides. The permit will be expensive and take time to
apply for and receive, if granted. These
will both affect the operations at his facility. If these pictures represent similar areas at
your facility, you could be impacted as well.
As the above timeline shows, actions being taken that you do
not see can be impactful, and have tremendous value. Golf’s representation at
that EPA meeting in Vermont left an impression on those in the state and at
EPA; golf course superintendents are engaged in protecting the property we are
entrusted to maintain. These efforts, in addition to communicating golf course
superintendents as environmental stewards, are promoting golf as a solution,
not the problem. The opportunity given to one member to learn about the
challenges to golf with the new Waters of the U.S. and become engaged has given
our industry an extremely motivated individual working to protect our
profession. Could the next engaged member be you?
