CRESCENT BAR - Two residents of the Crescent Bar Condominiums are encouraging all Crescent Bar island home owners to sign a petition they hope will bring White House attention to their plight.

Leases on condominium units and individual properties are set to expire in April. If a lawsuit in federal court or this petition don't bring a change, residents will have to vacate.

The lawsuit against the Grant County PUD is moving slowly. Residents are waiting for Judge Justin Quackenbush to decide on a request for an injunction against eviction action.

First, Quackenbush is thinking about whether to throw the PUD's attorneys off the case. Attorneys for the residents have claimed the PUD attorneys have a conflict of interest.

Now comes a petition that started in Missouri, with residents of a community faced with similar circumstances on land under the purview of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"We have recently learned of other lake communities that are affected by FERC and its over-reaching ways," said condo resident Nancy Polky in an email to all Crescent Bar island residents.

According to Heather Trautmann, also of the condos, Lake of the Ozarks, located near St. Louis, was the subject of a recent national television report. FERC approved a shoreline management plan that threatens 1,200 homes.

Another lakefront community drawn into the fray is Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, Va. A member of that homeowners association, Bill Brush, has launched an online petition he hopes like-minded people across the country sign.

The petition will be delivered to the White House's We the People website. It was set up for people to petition the White House directly. According to the website, if the petition attracts a significant number of signatures, it will be reviewed by White House staff for possible action.

"If we are able to get 5,000 signatures before Oct. 28, the White House staff will get involved with the issue," Polky said. "There were 800 signatures at the time of this email."

Smith Mountain is a large reservoir near Roanoke that was created by Smith Mountain Dam in 1963. It has experienced significant development since the mid-1980s. It has upscale lakefront homes in golf course settings.

The Brush petition, called CURB FERC regulations, claims the federal agency over-regulates the shorelines of the hydroelectric projects it ovesees.