Canoeing group sues over restrictions near golf course

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A.J. Perez, USA TODAY Published 8:31 a.m. ET Sept. 20, 2018
Updated 10:41 a.m. ET Sept. 20, 2018

A canoeing group filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday, claiming President Donald Trump’s use of his golf course in Northern Virginia has led to illegal restrictions on the Potomac River.

The court filing by the Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington seeks the U.S. District Court in Maryland to declare a Coast Guard rule that prevents use of the river that abuts Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, unlawful. The “permanent security zone” is in effect when Trump is at his golf course, often on weekends and holidays when the river that separates Maryland and Virginia is the most active.

“It is unconscionable that public access to this important stretch of the Potomac, which serves as a training ground for generations of paddlers, is cast into doubt so the President can play golf at his whim,” said Canoe Cruisers Association Chairman Barbara Brown said in a statement. “The Administration needs to listen to the hundreds of river users who opposed this rule, and establish with certainty a reasonable outcome that maintains access to this treasured natural resource while addressing the legitimate security considerations for the President” ...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2018/09/20/lawsuit-donald-trumps-golfing-illegally-restricts-potomac-river/1365377002/

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1. Visits Shut Down the Potomac so Often, Paddlers are Suing

WRITTEN BY BRITTANY SHEPHERD | PUBLISHED ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

... The Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington filed a lawsuit in Maryland Thursday against members of the administration, alleging defendants Karl L. Schultz, the commandant of the US Coast Guard, and Kirstjen M. Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security, failed to properly notify residents and surrounding businesses of a policy that locked them out of a 1.6-mile stretch stretch of the Potomac River.

Paddling and boating enthusiasts have been at odds with the administration for the better part of a year, after the Coast Guard implemented a then-temporary shuttering of a stretch of the river nearly 30 miles upriver from Washington, adjacent to Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Thursday’s complaint challenges the Coast Guard’s regulation, which it says “revokes the public’s legal right to access and enjoy a popular section of the Potomac River whenever President Trump visits Trump National.”

The Canoe Cruisers Association further charges that the DHS neglected to address or act on over 600 public comments from impacted individuals, violating processes required by agency regulatory rules. They additionally claim that the established boundary is “arbitrary and capricious because it is overbroad, fails to provide adequate notice to the affected community regarding when it will be in force, lacks an end date, and exceeds the scope of DHS’s statutory authority.”

CCA attorney Nitin Shaw tells Washingtonian that the boundary imposed by the Coast Guard directly endangers citizens by forcing them into dangerous, quick rapid sections of the Potomac. Shaw adds that groups like CCA are now inhibited from regular course of business, like teaching swift danger rescue while ensuring conservation and clean up efforts. While the CCA has been in communication with the DHS and the Coast Guard, they have not heard anything from either entity or the White House ...

https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/09/20/trumps-golf-course-visits-shut-down-the-potomac-so-often-these-paddlers-are-suing-him/

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2. Pissed-Off Paddlers Sue

BY JACOB FENSTON, WAMU IN NEWS ON SEP 20, 2018 10:32 AM

... In July 2017, the Coast Guard announced a new policy — a permanent security zone, from shore to shore along two miles of the river, allowing a quick closure of the entire section, any time Trump or another high ranking official was at the golf course.

According to the rule published in the federal register at the time, the purpose was “to protect high-ranking United States officials and the public, mitigate potential terrorist acts, and enhance public and U.S. navigable waterway safety and security.”

“The whole thing seems absolutely silly, actually,” says Matt Markoff, who runs Calleva, an outdoor education organization based right across from the golf course, on the Maryland side of the Potomac. “I can completely understand and respect security and the need for security for the president,” says Markoff ...

“We’re a human-powered boat, and we’re getting forced off the river like we’re a threat. It just seems so funny, because you can see us coming for a half an hour, and there’s kids singing songs,” Markoff says ...

http://dcist.com/2018/09/canoe.php