Conservation Groups Suing WSU Over Golf Course

PULLMAN — An ongoing battle over water on the Palouse has water conservation groups suing Washington State University.

The Palouse Water Conservation Network, the Palouse Group of the Sierra Club and Scotty Cornelius of Pullman are also suing the Department of Ecology and the Pollution Control Hearings Board over a recent consolidation of water rights.

Cornelius says WSU is tapping the aquifer to irrigate the new Palouse Ridge Golf Course which will open in August.

WSU officials say the consolidation has nothing to do with the golf course and was necessary to water the campus as a whole.

Conservation groups have been battling the university over the golf course for several years.