Military bill amendment could endanger tollway extension plans

Plans to build a toll road extension across San Onofre State Beach could be in jeopardy if a key congressional committee votes to eliminate legislation that would expedite the highway’s construction.

Late Wednesday night, Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) was planning to offer a military bill amendment affecting the Foothill South tollway -- a 16-mile road that would run through southern Orange County.

Her measure before the House Armed Services Committee would overrule a 1999 decision by Congress giving the Navy power to grant tollway operators a 340-acre easement inside San Onofre. The popular coastal park sits on leased land within the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

Davis’ amendment would also dismantle other federal legislation freeing the Foothill South from regulations in the federal Transportation Act requiring road builders to exhaust all “feasible and prudent” alternatives before parkland can be used for a highway. The exemption, sought by the Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies, the tollway operator, was added to the 2001 military spending bill by then-Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad).

“There is no reason why this project should receive special exemptions from the standard process and environmental safeguards,” Davis said, “particularly when such unique natural resources are at stake.”

Members of the House Armed Services Committee were discussing the possible amendment’s language into the evening.

With 2.7 million visitors a year, San Onofre is the fifth most popular destination in the state’s 278-park system. It contains endangered species, archeological sites, campgrounds, panoramic views of the sea, sensitive watersheds and world-renowned surf spots.

The Foothill South would cross the northern half of the park lengthwise and include a giant flyover with pilings sunk into the Trestles estuary, which has been set aside as a nature preserve. Estimated to cost $875 million, the tollway would begin at Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita and connect with Interstate 5 at Basilone Road south of San Clemente.

Supporters say the road would relieve growing congestion on Interstate 5 through southern Orange County. The route, tollway agency officials say, would do the least harm to natural resources and avoid the need to eliminate hundreds of homes and businesses along alternate routes in San Clemente.

Should the Navy lose its authorization to grant easements, they add, it will be difficult to build the Foothill South tollway as now conceived.

The state’s 50-year lease -- signed well before the tollway agency existed -- contains general provisions for road construction.

But the Marines have said they will accept an easement only if Congress allows the Navy to grant one.

“The Marines wanted Congress to grant them clear authority,” said Rob Thornton, the tollway agency’s general counsel. “We are consistent with the lease, but that does not eliminate the need for congressional authorization.”

If the federal highway regulations are reimposed on the Foothill South, Thornton said it will hand opponents a key weapon used to stop or delay other highway projects around the country.

Once the amendments are decided, the Armed Services committee will send the National Defense Authorization Act to the full House for a vote and on to the Senate if passed. Should Davis’ amendment be approved in committee, it must survive the deliberative process in both houses.*

dan.weikel@latimes.com

david.reyes@latimes.com