BOND ISSUE EYED FOR RIVER, BAY.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Even while city officials prepare a lawsuit over stricter regulations on storm water pollution, a plan has gained momentum to raise fees and ask voters to pass a bond measure to fund the cleanup of the Los Angeles River and Santa Monica Bay.

One option is seeking voter approval of a bond issue for as much as $250 million. City leaders would have to decide by Jan. 30 in order to get a bond measure on the April ballot.

Besides bonds, city leaders are considering an increase in the $23-a-year fee designated as a storm water pollution abatement charge on homeowners' property tax bills. The fee, which generates $28 million annually, was last increased in 1993.

Officials will report to the City Council today on possible funding scenarios, but at least one environmental group says the city's actions appear inconsistent.

``We do support the concept of the bond issue, but not if they are going to sue and not have an appropriate form of accountability,'' said Leslie Mintz, attorney for Heal the Bay.

City officials say they intend to follow the regulations and install all the necessary pollution-control equipment. At the same time, they have decided to sue state water regulators because the new rule lacks a so- called safe-harbor provision that would protect the city from citizen lawsuits if pollution levels rise despite the city's good-faith efforts.

``We're looking to protect the city as we meet water-quality standards,'' said Judith Wilson, director of the city's Bureau of Sanitation.

The debate focuses on storm water, one of the main sources of pollution to the Los Angeles River and the Santa Monica Bay. As it hits the pavement, rainfall collects trash, oil and other toxic substances that are carried into the storm drain system, which then empties into the river and ocean.

In 2001, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board set tough new limits on pollutants in urban runoff when it adopted a storm water permit for the Los Angeles region. In 2002, the board set new restrictions on trash in the Los Angeles River and bacteria at Santa Monica Bay beaches.

By Bureau of Sanitation estimates, the city will have to spend $480 million to comply with the restrictions on trash and bacteria contamination.

The trash problem is most pressing. The city has to reduce garbage in the Los Angeles River by 20 percent by September 2006 and completely eliminate it by 2015.

There are more than 1,310 outlets into the river, and city workers likely will use screens and other collection devices at the end of storm-drain pipes to catch soda cups, papers, bags and other trash. This will cost about $120 million over 10 years, according to Bureau of Sanitation estimates. < At the bureau, Wilson said she needs to have money in hand to buy and install the equipment by January 2004 to make the 2006 deadline.

The city can try to tap into state and federal grants to cover the clean-up cost, but those typically net only $1 million to $2 million a year, according to a September memo to the City Council. ``Most of this money has to be raised locally,'' Wilson said.