Former council chair Larry Phillips recalls Robinswood agreement as foundation for regional wastewater governance

Larry Phillips, former King County council chair and a signatory to the Robinswood agreement, joined the committee Feb. 5 to review the 1998 Robinswood retreat principles and their legacy for regional wastewater governance. Phillips said the meeting at Robinswood was intentionally held outside courthouse settings to signal a regional approach and to build political goodwill that was necessary to adopt a durable funding and governance framework.

Phillips said Robinswood emphasized a regional system supported by a consistent rate structure and the principle that new growth should pay for new system capacity. That framework, staff told the committee, led to changes in state law that removed a statutory cap on a capacity charge and to a county ordinance aligning capacity charges with Robinswood principles; staff said Seattle’s CSO benefit charge was discontinued after implementation of the capacity charge framework.

Phillips urged committee members to be transparent, put interests on the table and move without undue delay: "If you're gonna be a regional leader, you have to come with a mindset of solving these problems," he said. Several committee members agreed the Robinswood principles remain a useful foundation but said aspects of the agreement were not fully resolved or institutionalized and that new financial and climate pressures suggest the region may need to adjust processes.

Commissioner Clark and others suggested the committee consider ways to retain Robinswood’s effective principles while building flexibility for evolving technical, financial and regulatory challenges. Chair Claudia Balducci said the committee may decide to revisit a Robinswood‑style agreement to reflect current priorities and the RWSP update’s long‑range vision.