Mason County commissioners on Sept. 2 voted to authorize the chair to sign an interlocal agreement with the City of Bremerton to begin jointly exploring whether sanitary sewer service from the Belfair Water Reclamation Facility could serve portions of the Puget Sound Industrial Center and adjacent areas.

The ILA authorizes county and city staff to identify a mutual service area, coordinate general sewer plans and continue government-to-government discussions that County staff described as necessary before any final agreement. "This is an agreement, that commissioners agreed to and we're forwarding that for the city of Bremerton to review and potentially execute," Public Works Utilities and Waste Management Director Loretta Swanson said.

Why it matters: Commissioners and public commenters said the question will hinge on the outcome of technical feasibility and financial analysis and the terms of any future service agreement. Commissioners debated whether the ILA should require Bremerton to fund a feasibility study and whether the agreement should expressly require Bremerton to consult tribes before moving forward.

In public comment, resident Randy Lewis urged the county not to sign a final deal before a feasibility study and financial projections are completed. "Not doing a feasibility study prior to signing an agreed upon negotiated deal is putting the cart before the horse," Lewis said, and asked, "What is the cost of the build out and who funds what part of it?"

Commissioners discussed several guardrails they said had been added to the draft ILA to protect county interests. One commissioner noted a required step: plans must be submitted and approved by Ecology before the county agrees to serve additional areas, a requirement that the commissioner described as protective for the county.

Commissioners also debated an amendment to the ILA that would have required Bremerton to provide funding for a feasibility study "not to exceed $250,000." That proposed amendment failed to secure a second and did not become part of the agreement. A subsequent motion to authorize the chair to sign the ILA, without the feasibility funding amendment, was seconded and passed. The transcript records the vote as "All in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes." No roll-call tally of individual yes/no votes was recorded in the meeting minutes provided.

Several commissioners said they remain skeptical about whether the project "pencils out" financially but supported moving to the next stage of negotiations so that feasibility work and negotiations could determine the project's viability. One commissioner described the ILA as "the next step we take to get to the negotiations and the final step," and emphasized that the ILA is not the final agreement.

Discussion points identified during the meeting included: (1) requiring Department of Ecology plan and permit approvals before county service is approved, (2) the possibility of Bremerton charging out-of-area users an excise fee (a commissioner summarized Bremerton's statement that it charges a 50% excise fee on sewer system users from outside Bremerton), (3) whether Bremerton would consult tribal governments prior to further action, and (4) how feasibility and cost allocations would be negotiated in subsequent steps.

The ILA will be forwarded to Bremerton for review and potential execution; commissioners said further technical and financial analysis and additional stakeholder engagement would follow before any construction or service extensions occur.