The South Florida Water Management District Thursday is expected to officially end its option to buy more than 150,000 acres of U.S. Sugar Corp. land for Everglades restoration.

The sugar company has asked the district to cancel the contract, citing the state law authorizing the EAA reservoir project, in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

The law says the water district must terminate the contract, at the request of U.S. Sugar, if the project gets federal approval. Congress included the project in the Water Resources and Development Act signed by President Donald Trump in October.

"With this condition met and the requirement of the law fulfilled, there’s no need for the South Florida Water Management District to hang on to the remnants of a failed scheme," U.S. Sugar spokeswoman Judy Sanchez said in a prepared statement.

More: Trump signs law authorizing reservoir to cut Lake O discharges

The "scheme" negotiated by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008 called for the state to buy all of U.S. Sugar's 187,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee for $1.8 billion to re-create the "River of Grass" flow-way between the lake and the Everglades.

Moving water south would end the need to send excess Lake O water to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, in discharges that cause toxic algae blooms.

The deal fizzled as Gov. Rick Scott dramatically cut the district's revenue from property taxes, citing the recession. But the district in 2010 did buy two parcels of U.S. Sugar land totaling about 28,000 acres for $197 million.

Rather than re-create the "River of Grass" with 187,000 acres south of Lake O, the 23-foot-deep reservoir and an adjoining stormwater treatment area will be built on about 16,700 acres the state already owns.

The reservoir project is expected, when used in conjunction with other existing and planned projects, to reduce the number of damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by 63 percent.

It also will send an average of about 120.6 billion gallons of clean water south to the thirsty Everglades and Florida Bay.

The board will meet at 9 a.m.Thursday at the district's headquarters, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, and the meeting will be streamed live at sfwmd.gov.