Two indoor waterparks sue Gov. Wolf over shutdown

The owners of indoor waterparks in Butler and Monroe counties have sued Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in federal court in Pittsburgh over last week’s COVID-19 shutdown order.

Kalahari Resorts, along with The Woodlands at St. Barnabas — which does business as Conley Resort and Golf and operates the

Pirate’s Cove waterpark — say the shutdown is an “arbitrary decision” that allows some businesses to operate but not others.

The parks say that according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines, there is no evidence that the virus spreads through the use of recreational waters. The governor is still ordering them to close until Jan. 4.

Both waterpark owners say

they have complied with CDC guidelines for months. Kalahari, which runs a waterpark in the Poconos, said it has had no COVID cases in that time. It says the shutdown order is projected to cost the company $10 million during one its busiest times of the year.

The suit says the order is unfair because it permits some businesses with greater person-to-person contact to operate while forcing the parks to close.

Gyms and fitness facilities and “entertainment industry” businesses have to close under the order. But other businesses can operate.

“Defendants’ shutdown orders permit countless patrons to walk the narrow shopping aisles of retail stores, such as: Walmart, Sam’s Club, Home Depot and their local malls, but prohibit any patron from swimming in Plaintiffs’ waterparks and pools,” the suit says.

The waterparks are classified as entertainment facilities along with theaters, bowling alleys, casinos and similar businesses.

Kalahari said it felt that its waterpark could be considered a “business serving the public” and asked a Pocono tourism official to contact Mr. Wolf’s office for clarification. The governor’s chief of staff, Elena Cross, said Kalahari was considered an “entertainment industry” business and confirmed that it was required to close.

Attorney Thomas King, who filed the suit, is asking for a judgment declaring the shutdown unconstitutional and a temporary restraining order allowing the waterparks to continue operating under CDC guidelines through Jan. 4.

The suit is also asking for a permanent injunction barring the governor from “arbitrarily prohibiting” the parks from operating.