Washington Business Spring 2018 | Washington Business | Page 56

business backgrounder | economy
“A number of innovators have attempted to use waste
straw and other byproducts of the industry, but until now
we haven’t seen them scaled up.”
— Brian Bonlender, director, Washington state Department of Commerce
56 association of washington business
The projected economic benefits are dramatic,
particularly when concentrated in a rural economy
that has had decades of struggles.
Take it from Jennie Dickinson, manager of the
Port of Columbia and former executive director
of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. (Dayton,
population 2,526 according to the 2010 Census, is
the county seat of Columbia County.)
T h e c o u n t y h a s a h i s t o r y o f c h a l l e n g e s,
Dickinson says.
“We were the third largest community in
Washington in 1900” and lost population for nine
decades.
According to the Employment Security
Department, Columbia County now has a population
of 3,985 and a civilian labor force of 1,760.
To that base, Columbia Pulp will add 100 full-
time employees, generating an additional 120 jobs
in the community. With a projected annual payroll
of $9 million, the company promises an immediate
economic boost to the region.
The $184 million plant will be built on 449 acres
at Lyons Ferry on the Snake River, using 40 acres for
the mill and the balance as buffer.
The benefits don’t stop with workforce. Columbia
Pulp projects purchasing 250,000 tons of straw to
produce 140,000 tons of pulp. Growers will realize
$10-$15 per ton purchased. Overall, the economic
benefit to local communities is projected to be about
$70 million.
It’s a welcome infusion.
In 2004, Dayton suffered a major hit when Seneca
Foods closed what was billed as the world’s largest
asparagus canning plant. The shutdown cost the
region 50 full-time jobs and about 2,000 seasonal
jobs, according to a 2004 Seattle Times story. While
tourism and the wind industry have helped the
local economy recover, the Columbia Pulp facility
provides a major infusion of both economic activity
and emotional uplift, she says.
“It’s just a huge job creator…living wage jobs with
benefits,” she says. “I suspect people will move here.
We could really use some bodies.”
The benefits of population growth are clear to her.
“More people to shop here, more kids in our
schools, more people to use our hospital district