ANTI-DUMP LOBBYING DEVISED : CITY PLANNING TO TAKE FIGHT TO WASHINGTON.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Declaring Santa Clarita needs to ``kick some dust,'' Councilwoman Jill Klajic hopes to visit Washington, D.C., this fall to rally support for a bill opposing the proposed Elsmere Canyon landfill.

Klajic wants to lobby key congressional leaders and U.S. Forest Service officials with the help of representatives of the Sierra Club, Landfill Alternatives Save the Environment and the Santa Clarita Valley Canyons Preservation Committee.

``We need to kick some dust,'' she said. ``We can't sit and let it ride. We need to take some action.''

The bill by Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, is in the Senate subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management. It already has been passed by the House of Representatives, but has lost momentum in the Senate since the departure of presidential candidate Bob Dole, a key supporter of the bill.

If passed by Congress, the bill would prevent construction of the landfill by prohibiting the U.S. Forest Service from removing Elsmere Canyon from the Angeles National Forest.

Torrance-based landfill operator BKK Corp. is seeking county and federal permits to develop the 190-million-ton landfill, which requires trading the Elsmere Canyon site for privately held parcels on the edge of the Angeles National Forest.

The company already has spent about $30 million on the project since 1989 and has used high-profile lobbyists to help defeat the bill.

Klajic said the city's best defense against such deep pockets are local residents who can persuade Congress members to pass the bill.

``Lobbyists don't carry that much weight in Washington,'' Klajic said. ``Real people going in there and talking is how you compete. You don't compete by sending a letter and videotape of the mayor.''

Klajic said the last time she visited the capital, several Congress members agreed to support the bill and Angeles National Forest administrators tentatively recommended against the project.

McKeon aides said the visit would be helpful but questioned its timing.

``Anytime we can show community support for a particular piece of legislation is helpful,'' said Armando Azarloza, McKeon's press secretary. ``We would have to coordinate with (Klajic's) office to determine what the best time would be. We would like to do it when the Senate is likely to look at it.''

The bill's supporters include Reps. Carlos J. Moorhead, R-Glendale, and James V. Hansen, R-Utah, who chairs the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands.

In recent weeks, the two congressmen have written letters supporting the bill to Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Arizona, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

``That letter from the House chairman on national parks will have an impact on moving lots of senators who are undecided or not familiar with the bill,'' Azarloza said. ``That's part of the larger strategy to create momentum on the bill.''