MILLIONS EARMARKED FOR REGION SOUTHLAND WATER PROPOSALS FARE WELL IN HOUSE LEGISLATION.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Millions of dollars for Southland water projects are expected to wash up in the Southland next year under a funding bill headed to the U.S. Senate.

Money for the Sepulveda Basin, San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund and the dredging of Los Angeles Harbor are among $1.24 billion worth of pet projects in the bill -- better known as earmarks that are increasingly coming under attack in Congress.

While no one took specific aim at Southern California projects, watchdog groups and at least one lawmaker are on a crusade to curtail and better identify the authors of earmarks.

``I have complained for a long time around here that we are funding too many earmarks,'' said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who offered six amendments to strike about $4.85 million in various projects, including a science museum in Virginia, from the bill.

All of the amendments failed. Almost the entire Southland delegation voted to protect their colleagues' projects, except Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, and Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, who tried to help Flake slash two separate projects.

``We always complain that the president does not have the line-item veto authority,'' Flake noted, adding, ``I would be satisfied if Congress had it.''

In 2005, Congress approved more than 15,000 earmarks totaling more than $47 billion.

Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, who chairs the Energy and Water Subcommittee on the appropriations panel, said he made a point of limiting the number of earmarks to the bill.

He compared the $1.2 billion worth of pet projects to last year's $1.4 billion.

``We have produced a very responsible House bill,'' he said.

In the Southland, money will go primarily for Army Corps of Engineers projects.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, who obtained $2 million to restore Bull Creek Channel in the Sepulveda Basin, noted that the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area is a federally-owned flood control region. The government leases about three quarters of the 2,097-acre site to the city of Los Angeles for a wildlife preserve, parks, tennis courts and golf courses.

The funding will go toward restoring wildlife and native plant habitat in the creek channel, as well as adding new trails and a pedestrian bridge for visitors, Sherman said.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, secured $200,000 for the Sun Valley Watershed, $150,000 for the Tujunga Wash Restoration Project and $250,000 for the Los Angeles Basin Watershed Supply Augmentation Study.

The study is aimed at developing new methods for capturing stormwater runoff to recharge groundwater supplies and reduce ocean and beach pollution.

``As our population increases, we need to develop innovative solutions for maintaining our water supply and preserving our environment,'' Berman said, calling the study an ``important step in the right direction.''

The San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund, a project long championed by Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, will get $10 million from the bill. He also secured $1 million for two new recycling projects in the Inland Empire.

``In many ways, the future of the foothills sinks or swims on the issue of water,'' Dreier said.

The bill also will include $5 million from Rep. Juanita Millender- McDonald, D-Torrance, to support an ongoing assessment of geothermal resources in the U.S. She noted that a Department of Energy report recently found California to be one of the states with the greatest potential for quick development of geothermal resources.

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com

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