5. OPEN FORUM HANDOUT 10-20-2014

Home Browse Search

The largest and most recent milestone in LPI's history is the on -site wastewater pre- treatment facility, opened in fall 2012. The $12 million operation represents LPI's largest capital investment since the mill was built and is the solution to a tricky dilemma. As papermaking operations grew, so did the use of water, straining the capacity of the Becker industrial wastewater treatment facility. (Today, the mill uses about 550,000 gallons of water each day.) The short -term solution was to haul via truck a portion of the plant's wastewater to a treatment plant in St. Paul. At the height of this two -year endeavor, 23 trucks a day were traveling 40 miles each way for pro- cessing. In the meantime, planning began for the long- term solution, an anaerobic digester that treats water on -site before it is routed to Becker's wastewater treatment plant. "This is huge from an operational perspective," Newell said, "but even more so from a financial one. It also helped us retain jobs, become more efficient and cost - competitive, and allowed for internal expansion." The pretreatment plant is also equipped with the potential for additional energy savings. "One of the byproducts of the process is methane gas," Newell explained. "We initially planned to capture that gas, put it through a generator, and produce some of the electricity needed to power the mill. Unfortunately, things be- came complicated technology -wise and cost - wise." When the conditions are right, however, the capacity to generate energy is there. Construction of the water pretreatment plant was a cooperative effort among Liberty Paper, the City of Becker, Sherburne County, the St. Paul Port Authority, Xcel Energy, and the Initiative Foundation, a regional resource for job creation and economic development based in Little Falls. In 2013, the Economic Develop- ment Association of Minnesota presented its Partnership Award to LPI for the pretreatment facility, calling it "a unique urban /small town partnership." Community involvement LPI's commitment to community begins with the safety of its employees, most of who live in Becker and surrounding areas, and extends to its wide - ranging support of community activities and philanthropic causes. In its first five years of operation, the LPI mill recorded one million hours of operation without a lost - time incident. In 2005, LPI received the Governor's Safety Award for Excellence in recognition of excellence in workplace safety and health. In 2010, LPI team members notched 1.5 million hours worked safely with no lost time, a record that dated to March 2004. In 2012 LPI received the CEO Cancer Gold Standard, an accreditation that recognizes the commit- ment of the organization to reducing the risk of cancer for employers and their families. LPI transitioned to a smoke -free workplace, offers resources for employees to quit, and champions the "Relay for Life" cancer fund- raising event, and other contributions. 10