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Posted: Monday, September 10th, 2012 8:51 AM HST

Billionaire inherits lingering Lanai water dispute

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — The billionaire who purchased most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai will be inheriting a water dispute that has already gone before the state Supreme Court without a final resolution. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals returned the case back to a circuit judge last month. A group called Lanaians for Sensible Growth is challenging developer Castle & Cooke's irrigation of the Manele Bay golf course with water from the island's high-level aquifer. The legal dispute has spanned more than two decades. In June, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison purchased 98 percent of the island's 141 square miles. Castle & Cooke lawyers say the golf course is crucial to providing jobs. But the group says the case is about protecting underground water sources.