An Afternoon With International Paper Part I

I was offered a tour of International Paper's facilities today--including their wetlands and wastewater facilities--and it was an eye-opener...

I took the afternoon off of work today to go to Cantonment and tour International Paper's facility there and learn about their business and their environmental perspective.  A part of this tour included driving down to the 1400 acre site where their effluent goes through the wetlands before it empties into Perdido Bay.

Upon arrival, I was ushered into a nice conference room and given materials and a very informative powerpoint presentation about IP, their business segments, and their environmental philosophy.  I must admit it was an overwhelming amount of information and at times I felt like I was back in school, in Biology 101, as we discussed the minutiae of their efforts to navigate the circuitous process to get a renewed discharge permit through the state.

I am so happy I took time to go out and hear IP's side of the story.  And I learned a lot, and I saw a lot.

The main issue I had with today was the inaccessibility of much of the polishing wetlands.

I was also really bummed when I found out I could not take pictures and videos.

"It is strictly prohibited under company policy" I was told right up front.  (Full disclosure--I nearly got up and walked out at that point--but I really wanted to see what was happening in the wetlands so I acquiesced to this rule and put my phone away...)

I'm glad I stayed.  And I learned a lot.  In part II I will go into this issue in depth--because there is a lot more to tell.  Unlike what you see in cartoons in our paper---I care about this issue and the environment.  That's why I met with DEP and the scientists back in June.  That's why I spent hours today in the woods!