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The story: Doug Krapas, environmental compliance engineer for Inland Empire Paper Company gives a tour of the plant.
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Spokane River Dialogues is a yearlong series that profiles people that are passionate about the Spokane River. This video features a tour of the Inland Empire Paper Co. by Doug Karpas, and environmental compliance engineer with the mill.

Along the banks of the Spokane River, white steam billows skyward above the Inland Empire Paper Co., The Millwood Wash. newsprint plant, which is part of Cowles Co, which owns The Spokesman-Review, has been in operation since 1911. Outside the plant, piles of wood chips, give off an aroma like that of fresh-cut Christmas trees. Inside the plant, bales of recycled newsprint are shredded, cleaned, de-inked and repulped. The wood chips are broken down, processed, and then combined with the recycled pulp to make newsprint and other paper products.

“The mill prides itself on its environmental stewardship. We actually receive the wood chips as a waste product from local timber mills. And we receive our old newsprint from within a thousand-mile radius of here, said Doug Krapas, the company's environmental compliance engineer.” The mill also has its own wastewater treatment plant and is continually trying to find new ways to limit the mill environmental impact to the Spokane River.

“People really have no idea what goes into making any product they utilize, paper especially," said Krapas "You pick up your newspaper, and you take it for granted. There's quite a sophisticated process that goes into making it. Our product is made from 50 percent recycled newsprint and 50 percent recycled wood chips,".

I have followd every Spokane River Dialogue story (appreciate every one of them - thank you) and this is a most intesting story. As most of us who read the Spokesman, there appears to be a "problem" with the water quality of the Spokane River due to waste put into the river by companies - such as IEP - and other polluting industries/factors, yet this story took on the slant that IEP has done the best that they can to not further pollute the river by balancing the needs of the environment with the needs of their industry - and I appreciate that. And I certanly understand the balancing of needs, but call me a skeptic as I'd like to know where is IEP and the Spokesman in helping to mitigate the clean up of the river quality issue? And I admit I certainly don't know the whole story here - it's complicated . . . just asking a quesion where is IEP and the Spokesman on mitigating this issue???

Hey Colin,
Thank you for speaking at our organzational change class at Gonzaga last week. I was quite spell bound by your fascinating story about leading the change from still photography to video story telling at the Spokesman. I'm enjoying many of your videos tonight, especially this one about the IEP. From my house on the hill overlooking the mill, I've been watching the steam 365 days a year for 17 years, but never understood what went on inside the plant. Fascinating story. Thank you!