Flood-Control Plan Stays in House Bill

The proposed $1-billion Santa Ana River flood-control project remained in a massive House bill Wednesday after California Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Riverside) withdrew a hotly contested amendment to knock it out.

The legislation, authorizing nearly 400 water projects costing an estimated $20 billion, is expected to win House approval today despite the threat of a presidential veto on grounds it is too costly.

Brown said he supported the Santa Ana River project but feared that the bill would permit construction on the downstream segment in Orange County without guaranteeing that the upstream part--in his district in San Bernardino and Riverside counties--would ever be built.

Amendment Dropped

Although he termed the project a “pig in a poke” Tuesday, Brown dropped his amendment to strike it from the bill.

“My amendment, frankly, was a pressure tactic to make sure the (House) Public Works Committee would fight to the death to make sure the upstream dam was protected in whatever final bill we get,” Brown said. “That purpose, I felt, was obtained when I got the firm assurance of the House leadership that they would not proceed without that protection.”

So far, the Administration has approved only the downstream segment of the project. It rejected a proposed Mentone Dam on the upper Santa Ana River because of higher costs and local objections. The Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing a proposed smaller dam four miles upstream of the Mentone site.

Plans Snarled for Years

Plans for controlling the river--which the Corps of Engineers has termed the worst flood threat west of the Mississippi--have been snarled in Congress for years despite warnings that a major flood could cost 3,000 lives and cause $14 billion in damage in Orange County alone.

The flood-control package calls for widening and deepening the Santa Ana River channel in Orange County, raising Prado Dam near Corona by 30 feet to increase its floodwater capacity, and building a 550-foot rock- and earth-filled dam in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Although it has not received final approval from the corps or the secretary of the Army, the Upper Santa Ana River Dam was incorporated in the project in other amendments to the water bill Wednesday, shaving about $228 million off the $1.2-billion project.

Brown initially had urged that congressional authorization for any construction be withheld until the Administration backed the upstream part of the plan.

In spirited debate, Brown denied “rumors” that he was moving to delete the project from the bill solely to retaliate against Republican congressmen from Orange County who had campaigned against him in tough reelection races.

“That belittles my efforts,” he said. “The interests of my constituents are all that concern me.”

Nevertheless, Brown aide Skip Stiles said that “there is no love lost” between Brown and the Orange County Republicans, and he noted that Reps. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) and Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach) had contributed $1,000 each to Brown’s GOP opponent, John Paul Stark.

Separate Amendment

In an interview, Brown said his amendment was “completely separate” from his political ire at a few Orange County congressmen.

“Let me make it clear that I am not happy with their efforts to defeat me. And let me say also that I do not as readily accept the assurances of Orange County congressmen that they are looking out after my interests as I would have a few years ago,” Brown said.

Reps. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach), Jerry Lewis (R-Highland) and Alfred A. McCandless (R-Bermuda Dunes) all appealed to Brown to withdraw his amendment.

Packard argued that withholding authorization of the project until the Administration had backed all parts of it would doom it because Congress was unlikely to consider the project in separate legislation.

A relieved Packard, who had been battling for what is the largest single project in the omnibus bill, predicted a favorable vote in the House. He said he hopes the measure will also pass this year in the Senate, where the last two water-projects bills have died in recent years.