House OKs Swap of Land in L.A., Nevada

The House of Representatives approved land-swap legislation Wednesday that would preserve two pristine parcels in the Santa Monica Mountains as parkland and obtain federal land in Nevada for a power plant that the city of Los Angeles wants to build.

But the bill faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, where a key senator’s reservations may jeopardize passage.

Under the measure, Los Angeles would transfer about 294 acres of Upper Franklin Canyon above Beverly Hills and about 98 acres of Corral Canyon above Malibu to the National Park Service. The centrally located properties, long coveted by environmentalists as well as developers, would become part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

In exchange, the city would receive about 5,882 acres of Nevada land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and a one-mile-wide utility corridor for transmission lines for a power plant that Los Angeles plans to build outside Henderson, Nev.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power estimates that eventually it could receive as much as 30% of its electricity from the proposed facility.

“Because of escalating land values in Los Angeles and budgetary pressures here in Washington, it is becoming increasingly difficult to rely solely on the appropriations process to acquire these valuable lands,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), the proposal’s sponsor. “This bill provides a vehicle to obtain for the Park Service two very unique and valuable parcels.”

The DWP still would have to obtain various permits and meet stringent environmental standards under the bill before it could construct the plant, which is not expected to be completed until after the year 2000. The legislation also would establish a $5-million trust fund to purchase environmentally sensitive land in Nevada.

The House passed the measure on a voice vote. Rep. Barbara F. Vucanovich (D-Nev.) joined Berman in supporting it. They were opposed by Rep. James H. Bilbray (D-Nev.), who declared: “Nevada is again being considered a wasteland for others.”

Bilbray’s opposition foreshadows potential problems in the Senate. The measure could be sidetracked unless the concerns of Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), in particular, are assuaged, congressional aides said.

“He’s opposed this type of land transfers in the past, where Nevada gets the short end of the stick,” said Craig L. Varoga, Reid’s press secretary. “It’s very possible that could happen again with this.”

In addition, Varoga said, Reid is “not satisfied about the assurances they have given him about the possible problems with pollution.”

Earlier this year, opposition by environmentalists contributed to the apparent demise of a proposed $4.6-billion coal-fired power plant in northeastern Nevada.

The Sierra Club is opposed to Berman’s proposed land swap, contending that the deal would lead to environmental degradation of the Nevada land.