Washington Business Spring 2018 | Washington Business | Page 54

business backgrounder | economy
A Pulp Mill Rises From Burning Wheat Fields
Columbia Pulp’s new mill in Eastern Washington
can be a game-changer.
Richard S. Davis
Columbia Pulp will open a new mill in 2018 that converts wheat straw to pulp. When fully operational, the project
will bring 100 new full-time jobs to Columbia County. The waste-to-pulp facility provides a new revenue stream
to wheat growers, is environmentally sensitive, and a significant economic boost to a struggling rural economy.
At A Glance
$184 million plant on
449 acres at Lyons Ferry
on the Snake River
$13 million in annual
purchases of straw
250,000 tons of straw
used in production
Produce 140,000
tons of pulp
Farmers realize
$10-$15 per ton
Payroll expected to be
$9 million annually
100 full-time jobs plus
generating another 120
jobs in the community
Columbia Pulp: www.columbiapulp.net
Columbia County Profile,
Employment Security Department
http://bit.ly/ColumbiaCountyProfile
54 association of washington business
An innovative new business
will soon bring manufacturing
jobs to rural Washington,
provide w hea t fa r m er s a
sustainable market, reduce
— Evan Sheffels, Washington State Farm Bureau
greenhouse gas emissions and
galvanize a regional economy.
It’s transformational.
A pulp mill may not be the first enterprise that comes to mind. This, however, is a mill
unlike any previously seen in North America.
Columbia Pulp will use a process developed at the University of Washington to convert
waste straw to pulp for papermaking and byproducts. The groundbreaking ceremony for the
mill near Lyons Ferry in Columbia County took place last September, after nearly a decade
of exploration and development.
The mill can be likened to a Phoenix rising from a burning wheat field. After the harvest,
growers in the region often burn the waste straw left behind, contributing to air pollution
and soil erosion.
“It can definitely support farm viability
by creating a new market and revenue
stream from surplus straw.”