Cox casts for Bay funds

Alicia Robinson

Hoping to woo a fellow congressman who doles out money for

environmental projects, Rep. Chris Cox used a helicopter flight and a

bus trip Friday to show Ohio Rep. David Hobson why the Back Bay needs

$13 million.

Hobson chairs the House subcommittee on appropriations for energy

and water development, which will draw up a bill by June that could

include money to dredge two million cubic yards of silt from the

Upper Newport Bay.

While energy and water appropriations for 2006 could total as much

as $30 billion, getting the $13 million Newport wants could be tough,

Hobson said.

“The problem is that there’s just so much stuff in the country

that needs work, and it’s very difficult to get enough funds to all

the places,” he said.

Last year, Cox sought $13 million and got only $1 million for the

project, and now he faces deadline pressure. Some local matching

grants for the project will no longer be guaranteed after 2006, so if

they’re not used, they might go to other projects.

Friday’s tour, which included a bus trip with stops in Irvine and

the Back Bay and a helicopter flyover of the Back Bay and Dana Point,

was vital to helping Hobson understand what federal money will do,

Cox said.

“I’ve been working with Congressman Hobson for two years on

funding this project,” he said. “Getting Chairman Hobson out here is

of enormous importance.”

At 1,000 acres, the Upper Newport Bay is Southern California’s

largest tidal wetland and home to many endangered plants and animals.

Without periodic dredging, the bay would fill in with silt and its

ecosystem would be damaged by pollution from urban runoff.

To further persuade Hobson, Cox brought along representatives of

Orange County, the Irvine Ranch Water District, and the big guns --

longtime volunteer environmentalist Jack Keating of the Newport Bay

Naturalists and Friends.

The group helped lobby the Irvine Co. to give land in the Back Bay

to the state and Orange County as a nature preserve.

About 85% of California’s estuaries have been destroyed over the

years, which makes the Back Bay even more important, Keating told

Hobson.

The Ohio congressman seemed impressed by an Irvine Ranch Water

District natural treatment project, and he said seeing the Back Bay

helped him understand the area’s ecosystem.

“You’ve got to get out and see these things,” he said. “You can’t

just sit in a committee room in Washington.”

Hobson expects to have the 2006 appropriations bill drawn up by

June.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson

@latimes.com.