A bill signed into law last week is set to open new doors for regional cooperation between the City of La Center and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, starting with wastewater.
Gov. Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1039, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, on Tuesday, May 13. The legislation allows cities to voluntarily provide urban governmental services, such as utilities, to tribal lands located outside of a city’s designated urban growth boundary.
Previously, state law restricted such agreements. The change provides a legal pathway for interlocal agreements through 2028, offering time for municipalities and tribes to formalize service arrangements.
La Center Mayor Tom Strobehn said the change is long overdue and brings practical benefits to both the city and the tribe.
“It means that we can use the wastewater line that was put in by the tribe in 2016, 2017, to service the tribe’s expansion and all the expansions at the junction,” Strobehn said. “We can specifically help manage their wastewater without breaking the law. It’s amazing.”
The bill was initially crafted with La Center and the Cowlitz Tribe in mind. It follows a separate agreement in April 2024 in which the city allowed the tribe to place 50 to 55 acres of commercially zoned land east of Interstate 5 into trust.
After gaining traction in Olympia, the bill was expanded into a statewide policy model for tribal-city partnerships. What began as a narrowly focused proposal turned into a broader solution to infrastructure cooperation across Washington.
“We were gonna try to take it statewide … Some people said, ‘No, that’ll be too hard to pass,’” Strobehn said. “Yet it caught the attention of many people in the Senate and the House. The Senate voted to make amendments to it, and now it’s a statewide bill.”
The idea for the legislation originated in conversations between the city and tribal leaders. According to Strobehn, the collaboration began while discussing the tribe’s ongoing development both west of La Center near ilani Casino Resort and east of I-5, where the new trust land is located.
“It kind of came out of a thought process and collaboration between the tribe and myself,” he said. “I said, ‘If we do this, are you guys in full support?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, we’re in full support and we have our lobbyists, too.’”
Strobehn and the Cowlitz Tribe provided their testimony to the Senate in support of the bill, which was well received by legislators.
“The city of La Center and the Cowlitz Tribe — we are setting the example for the entire state on how a municipality and a tribe work together,” he said.
Although the law has been signed, no services will begin until a formal intergovernmental agreement is reached.
“There’ll have to be an agreement with the tribe moving forward,” he said. “Once it’s into effect, we can actually start working on it … We just haven’t begun those steps yet because everybody’s been really busy.”
The city can now help the tribe avoid building a costly new wastewater treatment facility, and in turn, the city could receive help funding upgrades to its existing wastewater system.
“They’re not going to have to spend a ton of money to expand a wastewater plant,” Strobehn said. “They’ll be able to tie right into the systems. And it also helps the City of La Center because it’ll help pay for any of the upgrades and services that we’re offering already.”
The bill’s passage comes while La Center updates its comprehensive plan, which governs future land use and growth. The added flexibility could support smart planning on both sides of the city-tribe boundary.
“Building a wastewater plant is extremely expensive … In 2005, was (around) $15 million,” Strobehn added. “Who knows what it is today?”
He added that the Bureau of Indian Affairs recently sent him a letter of approval for lands to be taken into trust on the city side, with La Center’s support.
The tribe will incorporate around 50 to 55 acres east of Interstate 5 into trust, for commercial business development. Under a mitigation agreement, the Cowlitz Tribe will give the city an extra 0.5% sales tax gain, for a total of 1.2% sales tax revenue from leased businesses, as it is subject to Washington State excise taxes. In addition, tribe-owned businesses will pay 1% of sales tax to the city. Based on expected revenue per commercial property acreage, the agreement will boost La Center’s annual revenue from approximately $111,500 as of April last year, to anywhere between $313,500 and $376,000 once businesses are developed.
“This is another step in progressing forward with our neighbors,” Strobehn said. “Something I’m really proud of. We set our mind to it, we pushed forward, we didn’t take no for an answer.”
Negotiations between the city and the tribe are expected to begin soon.
