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Lee County Board of Commissioners Chairman asked the county to be ready to sue the federal government over its handling of Lake Okeechobee water releases. (CREDIT: WINK News) Lee County commissioners are prepared to bring legal action against the Army Corps of Engineers if there aren’t substantial changes to the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, or LOSOM. LOSOM seeks to establish water releases from Lake O taking into account additional infrastructure that will soon be operational. Lee County is unhappy with the plan as it stands now because “the overall burden of flood control releases to the Caloosahatchee would increase” and so would the “total volume of water pushed into our estuary,” according to a letter sent to the Army Corps of Engineers by Kevin Ruane, chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners. “To have a change like this for the next 10 years, there’s not a scientist around that would say this is fair and equitable,” Ruane said. During their meeting Tuesday, Ruane asked the county to be ready to take legal action. “I’m just tired of getting beat up every day and this has just got to stop,” Ruane said. The motion passed unanimously. “This is too important for our economy and our community,” Ruane said. Ruane said he is concerned their water management plan could create another crisis like the one in 2018 that plagued Southwest Florida waterways with blue-green algae. According to the letter, Lee County wants future lake operations to limit discharges to no more than 2,100 cubic feet per second of water at the Franklin Lock. Commissioners also are looking for more fair and equitable water distributions. Capt. Chris Wittman with Captains for Clean Water agrees the plan the Army Corps of Engineers is considering could be better, but he said, “it’s kind of preliminary to kind of take hostile action or threaten hostile action against the Corps.” He said he is confident the Army Corps will settle on a plan that distributes the water fairly. “Increased flows south to Florida Bay, reduced flows to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie, especially during the harmful, wet months,” he said. An Army Crops spokesperson told WINK News they appreciate all the feedback from Lee County commissioners. They are expected to release more details on the progress of the Lake Okeechobee operating plan on Monday. https://winknews.com/wp-content/uploads/LOSOM-letter-executed-080321-1.pdf