Works Bill Includes Projects in County

A congressional committee has recommended a total of $7.28 million for several Ventura County flood control and navigation projects next year--including $4.8 million to complete expansion of the breakwater to increase safety at the entrance to Ventura Harbor.

The money was included in the massive $21.95-billion energy and water development spending bill passed Thursday by the House Appropriations Committee.

The committee voted to fund new barriers to block swells pounding at the entrance of the harbor, which is considered among the most dangerous for small craft in Southern California. The committee also included $1.2 million for annual dredging.

The committee approved the breakwater funding despite a lobbying campaign by the Surfrider Foundation, a group of ecology-minded surfers who have protested the project. In particular, the surfers object to the proposed south beach groin, which they say will cause beach erosion and wipe out one of Southern California’s top surfing spots.

In addition, the panel approved $645,000 to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to finish planning and engineering Santa Paula Creek flood controls, and $350,000 for studies on deepening and widening the Port of Hueneme harbor entrance.

The committee included $250,000 to continue studying how to prevent Calleguas Creek from flooding. The flood control improvements are needed to protect prime farmland along its path and the Mugu Lagoon wetlands.

The appropriations bill for the 1994 fiscal year will be sent to the full House, which is expected to approve the committee’s recommendations. The Senate must also pass its version of the spending plan.