Exclusive Rhode Island country club where President George H Bush held GOP fundraisers could face $50,000 fine for erecting ‘ILLEGAL’ sea wall to save the 14th hole of its popular golf course

A famous old Rhode Island country club faces a $50,000 fine for possibly violating state law by building a seawall to save the 14th hole of the club’s golf course.

The Quidnessett Country Club opened in 1960 and once hosted former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, who held a $1,250-a-plate fundraiser for the Republican Party in 1990.

Currently, the club is in the midst of a different kind of political turmoil over the course’s par five, 526-yard 14th hole.

The club is accused of building a sea wall along the hole without permission.

The move is similar to that made by pop superstar Taylor Swift in 2013, who outraged local residents after erecting a wall on her Watch Hill property without any public approval.

The Quidnessett Country Club opened in 1960 and once hosted former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, who held a $1,250-a-plate fundraiser for the Republican Party in 1990.

Swift did not have to obtain a building permit from the city and only had to get permission from the state Coastal Resources Management Council – an environmental organization that did not hold hearings before granting it permission to carry out the construction – estimated at more than $1 million.

Seawalls are generally not permitted along the state’s coastline and require at least a lengthy public hearing due to environmental impacts.

While the walls can stop erosion where it needs to occur, they can accelerate erosion in other areas.

“Thus, structural coastal protection measures can be a very costly adaptation measure with little return on investment,” says the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program.

In 2013, the CRMC explained Swift’s simple process of getting her seawall built, saying she was merely bringing a 1930s seawall up to standard after decades of disrepair.

Quidnessett Country Club has already been issued three $10,000 fines and asked to stop work on the wall.

“This activity violates the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program,” Brian Harrington, senior environmental scientist for the CRMC, said in August.

In a letter to the club, they were not told to demolish the sea wall, but they face heavier fines and more sanctions.

Currently, the club is in the midst of a different kind of political turmoil over the course’s par five, 526-yard 14th hole.

The club is accused of building a sea wall along the hole without permission

Seawalls are generally not permitted along the state’s coastline and require at least a lengthy public hearing due to environmental impacts

The CRMC has the ability to impose daily fines of $1,000, but would have to issue a final injunction against the club, according to the club. the Boston Globe.

The agency has met with the property owner and the club has until March 23 to respond and the wall is apparently ready.

A lawyer for the club, who previously chaired the CRMC from 2017 to 2021, wrote a letter to the regulator’s legal team.

“As previously discussed, we would like to engage in immediate settlement discussions to see if we can resolve this matter through a consent agreement,” Jennifer Cervenka wrote in October.

‘Please let me know when you and your client will be available for an interview or review meeting as soon as possible.’

They have not yet made any public comment.