LEE COUNTY, Fla. - A petition is circulating online that's urging Congress to restore Lake Okeechobee's natural flows to the south instead of sending it down the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers.
As a solution, Congress could use eminent domain to take away sugar-owned land. Eminent domain means the government can take public property and convert it to public use, according to Cornell University's law page .
However, under the law, property owners must be adequately compensated for the property.
The petition currently has 667 signatures, but more than 99,000 people need to sign it by August 30th to get a response from the White House.
