“There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of recreational waters.”

That is the opening line in a federal lawsuit filed by a pair of indoor water parks in Butler and Monroe counties, claiming Gov. Tom Wolf's business showdown orders last week are unconstitutional.

The statement comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.

Butler attorney Tom King filed the complaint Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Conley Resort & Golf Club in Penn Township and Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in the Pocono Mountains.

The suit comes just days after Wolf moved to close entertainment venues and gyms, ban indoor dining at restaurants, and temporarily halt school sports and other extracurricular activities.

Along with water parks, businesses that are classified as entertainment venues include casinos, theaters, concert halls, museums, zoos, amusement parks, carnivals, playgrounds and botanical gardens.

The governor announced the new restrictions Thursday, saying they were being taken to slow the uptick in COVID-19 cases and prevent hospitals from being overrun with patients.

The restrictions took effect Saturday and will remain in effect until Jan. 4.

In his complaint, King, with the firm of Dillon McCandless King Coulter and Graham, cited the CDC, which found there was “no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of recreational waters.”

Because of that finding and because of the plaintiffs' ongoing pandemic mitigation efforts, he argued, there is no basis for shutting down the water parks.

“The shutdown orders failed, at a minimum, to take CDC guidelines into consideration before preventing plaintiffs from being able to operate their businesses,” the suit indicated. “Plaintiffs are currently adhering to CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19 in Pennsylvania and other states, and were operating safely in Pennsylvania up until Dec. 12, 2020.”

The suit noted the orders prevent Conley's, which is owned by the Woodlands at St. Barnabas, from operating its Pirate's Cove Waterpark and Kalahari from operating its 260,000-square-foot water park.

The state's action, according to the complaint, could cost Kalahari $10 million in revenue.

Additionally, the suit claims the governor's orders are discriminatory, noting that it forces water parks to close while other businesses are allowed to remain open despite having “similar or greater person-to-person contact” and “significantly higher rates of infection associated with their business operations.”

The orders are arbitrary, King contends in the suit, and they amount to preferential treatment for businesses that can remain open.

“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,” the suit said, “but prohibit any patron from swimming in (the) plaintiffs' water parks and pools.”

The complaint asserts the orders violate the plaintiffs' equal protection, substantive due process and procedural due process rights.

Along with Wolf, the suit names state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine as a defendant.

The plaintiffs are asking for a declaratory judgment ruling the shutdown orders are unlawful and unconstitutional.

They also are seeking a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction against the defendants that would keep the state from enforcing the shutdown orders and allow the water parks to operate within CDC guidelines through Jan. 4.

Additionally, the plaintiffs are asking for the award of costs and expenses, which would include attorney's fees.

A spokesman for Wolf did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.