LANDFILL FOES LOBBY IN WASHINGTON : SANTA CLARITA GROUP DELIVERS 4,000 SIGNATURES OPPOSING ELSMERE DUMP.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Armed with 4,000 signatures against the proposed Elsmere Canyon landfill, a group of city and community leaders is aggressively lobbying federal lawmakers to defeat the project.

In Washington, D.C., for a week, the group hand-delivered the signatures to U.S. Forest Service chief Jack Ward Thomas whose department will decide if Torrance-based landfill operator BKK Corp. can build a 190 million-ton landfill in Elsmere Canyon in the Angeles National Forest.

``He was very impressed that there's been such an aggressive grass-roots campaign,'' said city lobbyist Mike Murphy, who accompanied Councilwoman Jill Klajic and local environmentalists to the nation's capital.

``He was impressed that this is a high priority for our community and there continues to be a high commitment from the public and City Council,'' Murphy said.

The group wants to build opposition against the dump that it says would contaminate groundwater, pollute the air and ruin a pristine environment.

The city is picking up the tab that includes $4,795 for hotel room expenses and $2,340 for transportation. The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce is paying the expenses of Marsha McClean, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Canyons Preservation Committee Inc.

City officials said the expense is well worth it. They said the group is making a strong impression on Washington's elite.

``They're walking into these offices cold and (federal officials) are familiar with the issues. That's good,'' city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said.

``Everything we've heard from people is real positive,'' Murphy said. ``They understand the issues we're representing and they're responding to the message we're giving them, which is staying with the `no project' recommendation'' of the Angeles National Forest.

Angeles National Forest administrators have tentatively recommended against the project because of its potential effect on the environment. The final environmental impact report is scheduled for completion Nov. 15. Opponents want to ensure that decision remains unchanged.

``Now that all the public hearings have been held we're still looking for the `no project alternative' to be sustained,'' Murphy said.

The group also spoke to Deputy Interior Secretary John Garamendi, former state insurance commissioner, who gave them tips on whom to contact and how to present their case.

``We talked to him from the California perspective,'' Murphy said. ``He was able to offer some superb guidelines. He was able to give us the Washington view of California and to suggest how we might approach some people on some of the issues.''

The delegation also is scheduled to speak to California's Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and to Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

McKeon has written a bill that would block the construction of the dump by preventing the U.S. Forest Service from removing the canyon from the Angeles National Forest. BKK wants to trade the Elsmere Canyon site for privately held parcels on the edge of the Angeles National Forest.