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Litigation and Environmental (Notes) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Loss Contingency, Information about Litigation Matters [Abstract] |
Litigation and Environmental | 18. Litigation and Environmental We and our subsidiaries are parties to various legal, regulatory and other matters arising from the day-to-day operations of our businesses or certain predecessor operations that may result in claims against the Company. Although no assurance can be given, we believe, based on our experiences to date and taking into account established reserves and insurance, that the ultimate resolution of such items will not have a material adverse impact to our business. We believe we have numerous and substantial defenses to the matters to which we are a party and intend to vigorously defend the Company. When we determine a loss is probable of occurring and is reasonably estimable, we accrue an undiscounted liability for such contingencies based on our best estimate using information available at that time. If the estimated loss is a range of potential outcomes and there is no better estimate within the range, we accrue the amount at the low end of the range. We disclose the following contingencies where an adverse outcome may be material or, in the judgment of management, we conclude the matter should otherwise be disclosed. Gulf LNG Facility Disputes Gulf LNG Energy, LLC and Gulf LNG Pipeline, LLC (GLNG) filed a lawsuit in 2018 against Eni S.p.A. in the Supreme Court of the State of New York to enforce a Guarantee Agreement (Guarantee) entered into by Eni S.p.A. in 2007 in connection with a contemporaneous terminal use agreement entered into by its affiliate, Eni USA Gas Marketing LLC (Eni USA). GLNG filed suit to enforce the Guarantee against Eni S.p.A. after an arbitration tribunal delivered an award which called for the termination of the terminal use agreement and payment of compensation by Eni USA to GLNG. In response to GLNG’s lawsuit, Eni S.p.A. filed counterclaims and other claims based on the terminal use agreement and a parent direct agreement with Gulf LNG Energy (Port), LLC. The foregoing counterclaims and other claims asserted by Eni S.p.A sought unspecified damages based on the same substantive allegations which were dismissed with prejudice in previous separate arbitrations with Eni USA described above and with GLNG’s remaining customer Angola LNG Supply Services LLC, a consortium of international oil companies including Eni S.p.A. In early 2022, the trial court granted Eni S.p.A’s motion for summary judgment on GLNG’s claims to enforce the Guarantee. The Appellate Division denied GLNG’s appeal and its motion for rehearing in 2023. GLNG elected not to pursue further recourse to the state Court of Appeals, which is the state’s highest appellate court, thereby concluding GLNG’s efforts to enforce the Guarantee. With respect to the counterclaims and other claims asserted by Eni S.p.A., the trial court granted GLNG’s motion for summary judgment and entered judgment dismissing all of Eni S.p.A.’s claims with prejudice on September 15, 2023. Eni S.p.A. filed a notice of appeal to the state Appellate Division. We intend to vigorously oppose Eni S.p.A’s appeal, which remains pending. Freeport LNG Winter Storm Litigation On September 13, 2021, Freeport LNG Marketing, LLC (Freeport) filed a lawsuit against KMTP and Kinder Morgan Tejas Pipeline LLC in the 133rd District Court of Harris County, Texas (Case No. 2021-58787) alleging that defendants breached the parties’ base contract for sale and purchase of natural gas by failing to repurchase natural gas nominated by Freeport between February 10-22, 2021 during Winter Storm Uri. We deny that we were obligated to repurchase natural gas from Freeport given our declaration of force majeure during the storm and our compliance with emergency orders issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas providing heightened priority for the delivery of gas to human needs customers. Freeport alleges that it is owed approximately $104 million, plus attorney fees and interest. On October 24, 2022, the trial court granted our motion for summary judgment on all of Freeport’s claims. On November 21, 2022, Freeport filed a notice of appeal to the 14th Court of Appeals, where the matter remains pending. We believe our declaration of force majeure was proper and intend to continue to vigorously defend this case. Pension Plan Litigation On February 22, 2021, Kinder Morgan Retirement Plan A participants Curtis Pedersen and Beverly Leutloff filed a purported class action lawsuit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The named plaintiffs were hired initially by the ANR Pipeline Company (ANR) in the late 1970s. Following a series of corporate acquisitions, plaintiffs became participants in pension plans sponsored by the Coastal Corporation (Coastal), El Paso Corporation (El Paso) and our company by virtue of our acquisition of El Paso in 2012 and our assumption of certain of El Paso’s pension plan obligations. The complaint, which was filed initially in federal court in Michigan, then transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Civil Action No. 4:21-3590), and later amended to include the Kinder Morgan Retirement Plan B, alleges that the series of foregoing transactions resulted in changes to plaintiffs’ retirement benefits which are now contested on a purported class-wide basis in the lawsuit. The complaint asserts six claims that fall within three primary theories of liability. Claims I, II, and III all seek the same plan modification as to how the plans calculate benefits for former participants in the Coastal plan. These claims challenge plan provisions which are alleged to constitute impermissible “backloading” or “cutback” of benefits. Claims IV and V allege that former participants in the ANR plans should be eligible for unreduced benefits at younger ages than the plans currently provide. Claim VI asserts that actuarial assumptions used to calculate reduced early retirement benefits for current or former ANR employees are outdated and therefore unreasonable. On February 8, 2024, the Court certified a class defined as any and all persons who participated in the Kinder Morgan Retirement Plan A or B who are current or former employees of ANR or Coastal, and participated in the El Paso pension plan after El Paso acquired Coastal in 2001, and are members of at least one of three subclasses of individuals who are allegedly due benefits under one or more of the six claims asserted in the complaint. Plaintiffs seek to recover early retirement benefits as well as declaratory and injunctive relief, but have not pleaded, disclosed or otherwise specified a calculation of alleged damages. Accordingly, the extent of potential plan liabilities for past or future benefits, if any, remains to be determined in a bench trial scheduled to begin on August 5, 2024. We believe we have numerous and substantial defenses and intend to vigorously defend this case. Pipeline Integrity and Releases From time to time, despite our best efforts, our pipelines experience leaks and ruptures. These leaks and ruptures may cause explosions, fire, and damage to the environment, damage to property and/or personal injury or death. In connection with these incidents, we may be sued for damages caused by an alleged failure to properly mark the locations of our pipelines and/or to properly maintain our pipelines. Depending upon the facts and circumstances of a particular incident, state and federal regulatory authorities may seek civil and/or criminal fines and penalties. Arizona Line 2000 Rupture On August 15, 2021, the 30” EPNG Line 2000 natural gas transmission pipeline ruptured in a rural area in Coolidge, Arizona. The failure resulted in a fire which destroyed a home, resulting in two fatalities and one injury. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the incident and issued its report on April 27, 2023. EPNG completed the physical work on Line 2000 in accordance with PHMSA’s requirements and returned the pipeline to commercial service in February 2023. We notified our insurers and resolved the claims presented by or on behalf of the owner and residents of the home without litigation or a material adverse impact to our business. General As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our total reserve for legal matters was $23 million and $70 million, respectively. Environmental Matters We and our subsidiaries are subject to environmental cleanup and enforcement actions from time to time. In particular, CERCLA generally imposes joint and several liability for cleanup and enforcement costs on current and predecessor owners and operators of a site, among others, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, subject to the right of a liable party to establish a “reasonable basis” for apportionment of costs. Our operations are also subject to local, state and federal laws and regulations relating to protection of the environment. Although we believe our operations are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, risks of additional costs and liabilities are inherent in pipeline, terminal, CO 2 field and oil field, and our other operations, and there can be no assurance that we will not incur significant costs and liabilities. Moreover, it is possible that other developments could result in substantial costs and liabilities to us, such as increasingly stringent environmental laws, regulations and enforcement policies under the terms of authority of those laws, and claims for damages to property or persons resulting from our operations. We are currently involved in several governmental proceedings involving alleged violations of local, state and federal environmental and safety regulations. As we receive notices of non-compliance, we attempt to negotiate and settle such matters where appropriate. These alleged violations may result in fines and penalties, but except as disclosed herein we do not believe any such fines and penalties will be material to our business, individually or in the aggregate. We are also currently involved in several governmental proceedings involving groundwater and soil remediation efforts under state or federal administrative orders or related remediation programs. We have established a reserve to address the costs associated with the remediation efforts. In addition, we are involved with and have been identified as a potentially responsible party (PRP) in several federal and state Superfund sites. Environmental reserves have been established for those sites where our contribution is probable and reasonably estimable. In addition, we are from time to time involved in civil proceedings relating to damages alleged to have occurred as a result of accidental leaks or spills of refined petroleum products, crude oil, NGL, natural gas or CO 2, including natural resource damage (NRD) claims. Portland Harbor Superfund Site, Willamette River, Portland, Oregon On January 6, 2017, the EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that established a final remedy and cleanup plan for an industrialized area on the lower reach of the Willamette River commonly referred to as the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (PHSS). The cost for the final remedy is estimated to be more than $2.8 billion and active cleanup is expected to take more than 10 years to complete. KMLT, KMBT, and some 90 other PRPs identified by the EPA are involved in a non-judicial allocation process to determine each party’s respective share of the cleanup costs related to the final remedy set forth by the ROD. We are participating in the allocation process on behalf of KMLT (in connection with its ownership or operation of two facilities) and KMBT (in connection with its ownership or operation of two facilities). Effective January 31, 2020, KMLT entered into separate Administrative Settlement Agreements and Orders on Consent (ASAOC) to complete remedial design for two distinct areas within the PHSS associated with KMLT’s facilities. The ASAOC obligates KMLT to pay a share of the remedial design costs for cleanup activities related to these two areas as required by the ROD. Our share of responsibility for the PHSS costs will not be determined until the ongoing non-judicial allocation process is concluded or a lawsuit is filed that results in a judicial decision allocating responsibility. At this time we anticipate the non-judicial allocation process will be complete in or around June 2025. Until the allocation process is completed, we are unable to reasonably estimate the extent of our liability for the costs related to the design of the proposed remedy and cleanup of the PHSS. Because costs associated with any remedial plan are expected to be spread over at least several years, we do not anticipate that our share of the costs of the remediation will have a material adverse impact to our business. In addition to CERCLA cleanup costs, we are reviewing and will attempt to settle, if possible, NRD claims in the amount of approximately $5 million asserted by state and federal trustees following their natural resource assessment of the PHSS. Lower Passaic River Study Area of the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site, New Jersey EPEC Polymers, Inc. and EPEC Oil Company Liquidating Trust (collectively EPEC) are identified as PRPs in an administrative action under CERCLA known as the Lower Passaic River Study Area (Site) concerning the lower 17-mile stretch of the Passaic River in New Jersey. On March 4, 2016, the EPA issued a ROD for the lower eight miles of the Site. At that time the cleanup plan in the ROD was estimated to cost $1.7 billion. The cleanup is expected to take at least six years to complete once it begins. In addition, the EPA and numerous PRPs, including EPEC, engaged in an allocation process for the implementation of the remedy for the lower eight miles of the Site. That process was completed December 28, 2020 and certain PRPs, including EPEC, engaged in discussions with the EPA as a result thereof. On October 4, 2021, the EPA issued a ROD for the upper nine miles of the Site. At that time, the cleanup plan in the ROD was estimated to cost $440 million. No timeline for the cleanup has been established. On December 16, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the EPA announced a settlement and proposed consent decree with 85 PRPs, including EPEC, to resolve their collective liability at the Site. The total amount of the settlement is $150 million. Also on December 16, 2022, the DOJ on behalf of the EPA filed a Complaint against the 85 PRPs, including EPEC, a Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree, and a Consent Decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. On January 17, 2024, the DOJ on behalf of the EPA voluntarily dismissed its Complaint against 3 PRPs, filed an Amended Complaint against 82 PRPs, including EPEC, and a modified Consent Decree in the U.S. District Court. On January 31, 2024, the DOJ on behalf of the EPA filed a motion to Enter Consent Decree in the U.S. District Court. We believe our share of the costs to resolve this matter, including our share of the settlement with the EPA and the costs to remediate the Site, if any, will not have a material adverse impact to our business. Louisiana Governmental Coastal Zone Erosion Litigation Beginning in 2013, several parishes in Louisiana and the City of New Orleans filed separate lawsuits in state district courts in Louisiana against a number of oil and gas companies, including TGP and SNG. In these cases, the parishes and New Orleans, as Plaintiffs, allege that certain of the defendants’ oil and gas exploration, production and transportation operations were conducted in violation of the State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978, as amended (SLCRMA) and that those operations caused substantial damage to the coastal waters of Louisiana and nearby lands. The Plaintiffs seek, among other relief, unspecified money damages, attorneys’ fees, interest, and payment of costs necessary to restore the affected areas. There are more than 40 of these cases pending in Louisiana against oil and gas companies, one of which is against TGP and one of which is against SNG, both described further below. On November 8, 2013, the Parish of Plaquemines, Louisiana and others filed a petition for damages in the state district court for Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana against TGP and 17 other energy companies, alleging that the defendants’ operations in Plaquemines Parish violated SLCRMA and Louisiana law, and caused substantial damage to the coastal waters and nearby lands. Plaquemines Parish seeks, among other relief, unspecified money damages, attorney fees, interest, and payment of costs necessary to restore the allegedly affected areas. In May 2018, the case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The case has been effectively stayed pending the resolution of jurisdictional issues in separate, consolidated cases to which TGP is not a party; The Parish of Plaquemines, et al. vs. Chevron USA, Inc. et al. consolidated with The Parish of Cameron, et al. v. BP America Production Company, et al. Those cases were removed to federal court and subsequently remanded to the state district courts for Plaquemines and Cameron Parishes, respectively. On September 27, 2023, the U.S. District Court ordered the case be stayed and administratively closed pending the resolution of jurisdictional issues. At this time, we are not able to reasonably estimate the extent of our potential liability, if any. We intend to vigorously defend this case. On March 29, 2019, the City of New Orleans (Orleans) filed a petition for damages in the state district court for Orleans Parish, Louisiana against SNG and 10 other energy companies alleging that the defendants’ operations in Orleans Parish violated the SLCRMA and Louisiana law, and caused substantial damage to the coastal waters and nearby lands. Orleans seeks, among other relief, unspecified money damages, attorney fees, interest, and payment of costs necessary to restore the allegedly affected areas. In April 2019, the case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In January 2020, the U.S. District Court ordered the case to be stayed and administratively closed pending the resolution of issues in a separate case to which SNG is not a party. On May 3, 2023, the U.S. District Court re-opened the case. At this time, we are not able to reasonably estimate the extent of our potential liability, if any. We intend to vigorously defend this case. Hurricane Harvey Emission Event In August 2017, KMLT discovered that three tanks at its Pasadena, Texas Terminal failed during Hurricane Harvey. The tank failures resulted in emissions of products being stored in the tanks. The emissions were properly reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. On November 15, 2019, the State of Texas filed a petition against KMLT in a state district court in Harris County, Texas alleging that violations of maintenance standards contributed to cause both the tank failures in August 2017, and a subsequent tank failure in 2018. The State seeks monetary penalties and corrective actions by KMLT. The State amended its petition in May 2023; the amended petition also seeks penalties and corrective actions. We intend to vigorously defend this case, and we do not anticipate the cost to resolve this matter including the costs to comply with corrective actions, if any, will have a material impact to our business. General Although it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcomes, we believe that the resolution of the environmental matters set forth in this note, and other matters to which we and our subsidiaries are a party, will not have a material adverse effect on our business. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we have accrued a total reserve for environmental liabilities in the amount of $199 million and $221 million, respectively. In addition, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had receivables of $11 million and $12 million, respectively, recorded for expected cost recoveries that have been deemed probable. Challenge to Federal “Good Neighbor Plan” On July 14, 2023, we filed a Petition for Review against the EPA and others in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking review of the EPA’s final action promulgating the EPA’s final rule known as the “Good Neighbor Plan” (the Plan). The Plan was published in the Federal Register as a final rule on June 5, 2023. The Plan is a federal implementation plan to address certain interstate transport requirements of the Clean Air Act for the 2015 8-hour Ozone NAAQS. We believe that the Plan is deeply flawed and that numerous and substantial bases for challenging the Plan exist. If the Plan were fully implemented, its emission standards would require installation of more stringent air pollution controls on hundreds of existing internal combustion engines used by our Natural Gas Pipelines business segment. On July 27, 2023, we filed a Motion to Stay the Plan Pending Review, and on September 25, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals denied the Motion. On October 13, 2023, we filed an Emergency Application for Stay of Final Agency Action in the United States Supreme Court. On December 20, 2023, the Supreme Court issued an order deferring consideration of the Emergency Application for Stay pending oral argument which is scheduled to take place February 21, 2024. On July 31, 2023 and September 29, 2023, the EPA published interim final rules entitled, respectively, “Federal ‘Good Neighbor Plan’ for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS; Response to Judicial Stays of SIP Disapproval Action for Certain States” and “Federal ‘Good Neighbor Plan’ for the 2015 Ozone NAAQS; Response to Additional Judicial Stays of SIP Disapproval Action for Certain States.” We filed petitions for review against the EPA and others in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seeking review of the interim final rule and the second interim final rule on September 29, 2023 and November 17, 2023, respectively. If the Plan were to remain in effect in its current form (including full compliance by its compliance deadline, and assuming failure of all pending challenges to state implementation plan disapprovals and no successful challenge to the Plan), we anticipate that it would have a material impact on us. However, impacts of the Plan are difficult to predict, given the extensive pending litigation. We would seek to mitigate the impacts, and to recover expenditures through adjustments to our rates on our regulated assets where available.

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