If the political stars that govern federal budget-making align in Seaside’s favor, the City will receive a half-million-dollar federal grant to divert its polluted summer stormwater runoff away from the Bay.

A proposed pump system would re-route the city’s “dry weather” stormwater, which contains a higher concentration of hazardous contaminants than the winter flow, to the regional wastewater treatment plant in Marina. Currently, Seaside’s main outfall on Bay Street discharges into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

“The idea is to take these and divert them into the sewer system and eliminate their presence in the ocean,” city engineer Tim O’Halloran says.

Summer runoff is more worrisome to city planners than winter runoff because the concentration of pollutants is higher when the weather is drier. O’Halloran says the diversion structure won’t have enough capacity to divert the high volume of winter runoff, which contains lower concentrations of pollutants.

The diversion sounds simple enough, but it’s a significant undertaking for Seaside. The proposed structure, located at the city’s main outfall, is a 20-foot-deep chamber with a series of mechanically controlled pumps. Once the stormwater level reaches a certain height, the pumps automatically kick in and re-route the water to the wastewater treatment plant in Marina, where it is filtered before being discharged to the Bay.

State law prohibits stormwater discharge into Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS), which comprise most of the coastal waters bordering the Peninsula. The law is intended to keep hazardous contaminants out of sensitive marine ecosystems, but most local cities have been slow to comply. Because re-routing all stormwater runoff is an extremely costly endeavor, local leaders have complained that the law is an unfunded mandate. Cities that have made an effort to re-route stormwater have done so with a mix of local funds and state and federal grants.

But federal funding for Seaside’s diversion project isn’t a sure thing – yet. Rep. Sam Farr earmarked $500,000 for it in the US House version of the Department of the Interior’s budget, but the Senate version does not include the grant. When lawmakers reconcile the two versions in September, the funding will either be cemented or eliminated before heading to President Bush for a signature. If he approves a budget that includes the Seaside grant, the Environmental Protection Agency will manage the diversion project and the funding will be available next March, says city engineer Carole Dawson. The project’s total estimated cost is $2.6 million, $600,000 of which has already been spent on planning.

Seaside isn’t the first Peninsula city to make dry weather flow diversion a part of its Stormwater Management Plan. Pacific Grove similarly re-routes its summer runoff from outfalls between Lovers’ Point and the border it shares with Monterey.

Such projects are an economic burden on cities strapped for cash, and if the money doesn’t come from federal or state coffers, citizens may have to pony up. On Aug. 1, the PG City Council authorized Mayor Dan Cort to sign a letter in support of Senate Constitutional Amendment 12, which would allow local municipalities to impose stormwater management fees on residents.

If the amendment becomes law, Peninsula residents may soon see a new line item on their garbage, sewer and water bills.