U.S. Rejects Malibu Request for Landslide Funds : Safety: FEMA says slide does not pose immediate danger. City blames decision on state Sen. Hayden’s objections to $20-million plan.

Malibu’s bid for $20 million in federal funds to shore up a decades-old landslide and prevent flooding in Las Flores Canyon has been rejected, stunning city officials who blame the decision on state Sen. Tom Hayden’s objections to the project.

City officials sought federal funds to try to stop the slow-moving landslide in east Malibu, contending that it accelerated after the 1993 firestorm.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the request, saying that the project was not eligible for emergency funding because the movement of the Rambla Pacifico slide “does not constitute an immediate threat.”

“What we do is protect life and property in an emergency,” FEMA spokesman Morrie Goodman said. “Malibu has to solve [its] own topographic problems.”

Malibu City Manager David N. Carmany charged that FEMA was persuaded to deny funds for the project by a letter from Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who represents the area, to FEMA Director James Lee Witt. Hayden warned Witt that the city’s proposal to rechannel Las Flores Creek would destroy the waterway’s natural beauty.

Hayden, who wrote that he had the support of a number of environmental groups, offered an alternative: build a second stream alongside Las Flores Creek to handle the flooding in storms. The senator could not be reached for comment.

Carmany said the city plans to appeal the decision, enlisting the help of the area’s congressman, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills).

FEMA spokesman Goodman said Hayden’s letter did not influence the decision because teh agency’s action was based on the data available on the landslide.

Goodman said FEMA does not do restorative work, adding that the agency helped Malibu last winter by funding the removal of any immediate threat created by the slide.

“FEMA has spent over $1 million for mud removal and slide stabilization this year,” he said.

Part of the agency’s funds are set aside for disaster prevention projects. But Malibu competed with other fire-ravaged communities, such as Altadena, Laguna and Pasadena Glen, for that pool of money. And state officials ultimately determine where the money would be best spent. Goodman said funds for the 1993 fire simply have been exhausted.

“There are problems all over the state, and FEMA can’t take care of all of them,” he said.

City officials said they expected approval of the project because FEMA had already spent $775,000 to study how to buttress the landslide, prevent future flooding by moving Las Flores Creek, and build a larger bridge at Las Flores Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway.

The FEMA rejection letter concedes that the slide is active, but says “its movement appears to be consistent with historic records of movement and not related to current disaster events.”