House OKs $50 Million for Flood Project

The House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that includes $50 million next year for a construction project designed to protect hundreds of thousands of people in southeast Los Angeles County from the threat of flooding.

The $240-million flood control improvement project, which is under construction, will shore up 23 miles of flood channels in the region and better protect residents in the event of a catastrophic deluge.

Last year, Congress gave the project $21 million in funding. This year’s $50-million figure was negotiated in conference committee after the Senate approved $40 million and the House recommended $60 million.

The entire appropriations bill is expected to be passed by the Senate and signed by President Clinton in the next two weeks, said an aide for Rep. Stephen Horn (R-Long Beach).

The project was deemed necessary after Army Corps of Engineers studies in the 1980s discovered that current flood controls failed to meet federal guidelines. Until the project is finished, nearly all home owners in a 65-square-mile flood hazard zone must buy federal flood insurance.