The panel was convened at the request of the King County Council in partnership with the King County Executive. The independent experts will assess and review the strategy preferred by King County Executive Ron Sims.

Guided by their experience working on past projects of similar size and scope, these experts will work closely with King County Council and staff members to:

• Examine closely all of the plan’s key elements
• Assess the process by which the recommendations were developed
• Consider all of the assumptions that were used to develop the plan

Following meetings in Seattle, the panel will issue a final written report by April 28.

The panelists are considered leading experts in each of their respective fields. From capital financing, technical engineering and population projections to marine biology and Federal regulations like the recent ESA listing of salmon, these experts have extensive experience working in other metropolitan areas on similar wastewater system upgrades.

The RWSP was developed because our region’s growing population will soon push our wastewater treatment system beyond its current capacity. By 2030, it is estimated that the system will have to treat each day an additional 93 million gallons of wastewater, 50 percent of the current volume. The plan will provide infrastructure needed to support our economy and protect and enhance our water quality.