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Other Commitments And Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Other Commitments and Contingencies A. Guarantees and Indemnities. We and certain of our subsidiaries enter into various agreements providing financial or performance assurance to third parties on behalf of certain subsidiaries as a part of normal business. Such agreements include guarantees and stand-by letters of credit. These agreements are entered into primarily to support or enhance the creditworthiness otherwise attributed to a subsidiary on a stand-alone basis, thereby facilitating the extension of sufficient credit to accomplish the subsidiaries’ intended commercial purposes. As of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had issued stand-by letters of credit of $14.1 million and $15.2 million, respectively. We provide guarantees related to our future performance under BTAs for our renewable generation projects. At June 30, 2021, our guarantees for the Rosewater and Indiana Crossroads BTAs totaled $519.5 million. In July 2021, the amount of the guarantees increased to $544.7 million in accordance with the Dunn's Bridge I BTA. The amount of each guaranty will fluctuate upon the completion of the various steps outlined in each BTA. See “- E. Other Matters - Generation Transition,” below for more information. B. Legal Proceedings. On September 13, 2018, a series of fires and explosions occurred in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts related to the delivery of natural gas by Columbia of Massachusetts (the "Greater Lawrence Incident"). The Greater Lawrence Incident resulted in one fatality and a number of injuries, damaged multiple homes and businesses, and caused the temporary evacuation of significant portions of each municipality. The Massachusetts Governor’s Office declared a state of emergency, authorizing the Massachusetts DPU to order another utility company to coordinate the restoration of utility services in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. The incident resulted in the interruption of gas for approximately 7,500 gas meters, the majority of which served residences and approximately 700 of which served businesses, and the interruption of other utility service more broadly in the area. Columbia of Massachusetts replaced the cast iron and bare steel gas pipeline system in the affected area and restored service. See “- C. Other Greater Lawrence Incident Matters below for more information. On September 1, 2020, the Massachusetts Governor terminated the state of emergency declared following the Greater Lawrence Incident. We have been subject to inquiries and investigations by government authorities and regulatory agencies regarding the Greater Lawrence Incident. On February 26, 2020, the Company and Columbia of Massachusetts entered into agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts to resolve the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s investigation relating to the Greater Lawrence Incident, as described below. The Company and Columbia of Massachusetts entered into an agreement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (among other parties) to resolve the Massachusetts DPU and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office investigations, that was approved by the Massachusetts DPU on October 7, 2020 as part of the sale of the Massachusetts Business to Eversource. U.S. Department of Justice Investigation. On February 26, 2020, the Company and Columbia of Massachusetts entered into agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to resolve the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s investigation relating to the Greater Lawrence Incident. Columbia of Massachusetts agreed to plead guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the “Court”) to violating the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act (the “Plea Agreement”), and the Company entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (the “DPA”). On March 9, 2020, Columbia of Massachusetts entered its guilty plea pursuant to the Plea Agreement, which the Court accepted. Subsequently, Columbia of Massachusetts and the U.S. Attorney’s Office modified the Plea Agreement. On June 23, 2020, the Court sentenced Columbia of Massachusetts in accordance with the terms of the modified Plea Agreement. Under the modified Plea Agreement, Columbia of Massachusetts is subject to the following terms, among others: (i) a criminal fine in the amount of $53,030,116; (ii) a three-year probationary period that will terminate early upon a sale of Columbia of Massachusetts or a sale of its gas distribution business to a qualified third-party buyer consistent with certain requirements, but in no event before the end of the one-year mandatory period of probation; (iii) compliance with each of the NTSB recommendations stemming from the Greater Lawrence Incident; and (iv) employment of an in-house monitor until the end of the term of probation or until the sale of Columbia of Massachusetts or its gas distribution business, whichever is earlier. On June 23, 2021, the Court accepted a joint request by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and the U.S. Attorney's Office to terminate the three-year probation effective immediately, which was at the end of the one-year minimum probationary period, marking the completion of all terms of the modified plea agreement. Under the DPA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to defer prosecution of the Company in connection with the Greater Lawrence Incident for a three-year period (which three-year period may be extended for twelve (12) months upon the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s determination of a breach of the DPA) subject to certain obligations of the Company, including, but not limited to, the following: (i) the Company will use reasonable best efforts to sell Columbia of Massachusetts or Columbia of Massachusetts’ gas distribution business to a qualified third-party buyer consistent with certain requirements, and, upon the completion of any such sale, the Company will cease and desist any and all gas pipeline and distribution activities in the District of Massachusetts; (ii) the Company will forfeit and pay, within 30 days of the later of the sale becoming final or the date on which post-closing adjustments to the purchase price are finally determined in accordance with the agreement to sell Columbia of Massachusetts or its gas distribution business, a fine equal to the total amount of the profit or gain, if any, from any sale of Columbia of Massachusetts or its gas distribution business, with the amount of profit or gain determined as provided in the DPA; and (iii) the Company agrees as to each of the Company’s subsidiaries involved in the distribution of gas through pipeline facilities in Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky and Virginia to implement and adhere to each of the recommendations from the NTSB stemming from the Greater Lawrence Incident. Pursuant to the DPA, if the Company complies with all of its obligations under the DPA, including, but not limited to those identified above, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not file any criminal charges against the Company related to the Greater Lawrence Incident. If Columbia of Massachusetts withdraws its plea for any reason, if the Court rejects any aspect of the Plea Agreement, or if Columbia of Massachusetts should fail to perform an obligation under the Plea Agreement prior to the sale of Columbia of Massachusetts or its gas distribution business, the U.S. Attorney's Office may, at its sole option, render the DPA null and void. The sale of the Massachusetts Business was completed on October 9, 2020. The Company was not required to forfeit or pay any funds because the Company did not realize a profit or gain from the sale as provided in the DPA. Private Actions. Various lawsuits, including several purported class action lawsuits, have been filed by various affected residents or businesses in Massachusetts state courts against the Company and/or Columbia of Massachusetts in connection with the Greater Lawrence Incident. On July 26, 2019, the Company, Columbia of Massachusetts and NiSource Corporate Services Company, a subsidiary of the Company, entered into a term sheet with the class action plaintiffs under which they agreed to settle the class action claims in connection with the Greater Lawrence Incident. Columbia of Massachusetts agreed to pay $143 million into a settlement fund to compensate the settlement class and the settlement class agreed to release Columbia of Massachusetts and affiliates from all claims arising out of or related to the Greater Lawrence Incident. The following claims are not covered under the proposed settlement because they are not part of the consolidated class action: (1) physical bodily injury and wrongful death; (2) insurance subrogation, whether equitable, contractual or otherwise; and (3) claims arising out of appliances that are subject to the Massachusetts DPU orders. Emotional distress and similar claims are covered under the proposed settlement unless they are secondary to a physical bodily injury. The settlement class is defined under the term sheet as all persons and businesses in the three municipalities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts, subject to certain limited exceptions. The motion for preliminary approval and the settlement documents were filed on September 25, 2019. The preliminary approval court hearing was held on October 7, 2019 and the court issued an order granting preliminary approval of the settlement on October 11, 2019. The Court granted final approval of the settlement on March 12, 2020. With respect to claims not included in the consolidated class action, many of the asserted wrongful death and bodily injury claims have settled, and we continue to discuss potential settlements with remaining claimants. The outcomes and impacts of such private actions are uncertain at this time. Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit. On April 28, 2020, a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed by the City of Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against certain of the Company’s current and former directors, alleging state-law claims for breaches of fiduciary duty with respect to the pipeline safety management systems relating to the distribution of natural gas prior to the Greater Lawrence Incident and also including federal-law claims related to our proxy statement disclosures regarding our safety systems. The remedies sought included damages for the alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate governance reforms, and restitution of any unjust enrichment. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and oral argument was held on March 2, 2021. On March 9, 2021, the district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. It dismissed the federal-law claims with prejudice for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted and declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state-law claims, which were dismissed without prejudice. Following the dismissal of the federal court action, on April 29, 2021, the same plaintiff filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery against certain of our current and former directors. The new complaint alleges a single count for breach of fiduciary duty, and no longer alleges disclosure violations or breaches of federal securities laws. The complaint relates to substantially the same matters as those alleged in the dismissed federal derivative complaint. The remedies sought include damages for the alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate governance reforms, and restitution of compensation by the individual defendants. On May 19, 2021, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and on July 2, 2021, they filed their brief in support of the motion. The plaintiff's opposition to the motion is due on August 26, 2021, and the defendants' reply brief is due on September 24, 2021. Because of the preliminary nature of this lawsuit, we are not able to estimate a loss or range of loss, if any, that may be incurred in connection with this matter at this time. Remaining Claims. Due to the inherent uncertainty of litigation, there can be no assurance that the outcome or resolution of any particular claim, proceeding or investigation related to the Greater Lawrence Incident or otherwise would not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity. Certain matters in connection with the Greater Lawrence Incident have had or may have a material impact as described above. If one or more of such additional or other matters were decided against us, the effects could be material to our results of operations in the period in which we would be required to record or adjust the related liability and could also be material to our cash flows in the periods that we would be required to pay such liability. We are also party to certain other claims, regulatory and legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business in each state in which we have operations, none of which we believe to be individually material at this time. C. Other Greater Lawrence Incident Matters. In connection with the Greater Lawrence Incident, Columbia of Massachusetts, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Governor’s office, replaced the entire affected pipeline system. We invested approximately $258 million of capital spend for the pipeline replacement; this work was completed in 2019. We maintain property insurance for gas pipelines and other applicable property. Columbia of Massachusetts has filed a proof of loss with its property insurer for the pipeline replacement. In January 2020, we filed a lawsuit against the property insurer, seeking payment of our property claim. We are currently unable to predict the timing or amount of any insurance recovery under the property policy. D. Environmental Matters. Our operations are subject to environmental statutes and regulations related to air quality, water quality, hazardous waste and solid waste. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with the environmental regulations currently applicable to our operations. It is management's continued intent to address environmental issues in cooperation with regulatory authorities in such a manner as to achieve mutually acceptable compliance plans. However, there can be no assurance that fines and penalties will not be incurred. Management expects a majority of environmental assessment and remediation costs to be recoverable through rates for certain of our companies. As of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had recorded a liability of $93.3 million and $92.6 million, respectively, to cover environmental remediation at various sites. The current portion of this liability is included in "Other accruals" in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited). The noncurrent portion is included in "Other noncurrent liabilities." We recognize costs associated with environmental remediation obligations when the incurrence of such costs is probable and the amounts can be reasonably estimated. The original estimates for remediation activities may differ materially from the amount ultimately expended. The actual future expenditures depend on many factors, including laws and regulations, the nature and extent of impact and the method of remediation. These expenditures are not currently estimable at some sites. We periodically adjust our liability as information is collected and estimates become more refined. CERCLA. Our subsidiaries are potentially responsible parties at waste disposal sites under the CERCLA (commonly known as Superfund) and similar state laws. Under CERCLA, each potentially responsible party can be held jointly, severally and strictly liable for the remediation costs as the EPA, or state, can allow the parties to pay for remedial action or perform remedial action themselves and request reimbursement from the potentially responsible parties. Our affiliates have retained CERCLA environmental liabilities, including remediation liabilities, associated with certain current and former operations. These liabilities are not material to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited). MGP. We maintain a program to identify and investigate former MGP sites where Gas Distribution Operations subsidiaries or predecessors may have liability. The program has identified 54 such sites where liability is probable. Remedial actions at many of these sites are being overseen by state or federal environmental agencies through consent agreements or voluntary remediation agreements. We utilize a probabilistic model to estimate our future remediation costs related to MGP sites. The model was prepared with the assistance of a third party and incorporates our experience and general industry experience with remediating MGP sites. We complete an annual refresh of the model in the second quarter of each fiscal year. No material changes to the estimated future remediation costs were noted as a result of the refresh completed as of June 30, 2021. Our total estimated liability related to the facilities subject to remediation was $87.1 million and $85.0 million at June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. The liability represents our best estimate of the probable cost to remediate the MGP sites. We believe that it is reasonably possible that remediation costs could vary by as much as $17 million in addition to the costs noted above. Remediation costs are estimated based on the best available information, applicable remediation standards at the balance sheet date and experience with similar facilities. CCRs. On April 17, 2015, the EPA issued a final rule for regulation of CCRs. The rule regulates CCRs under the RCRA Subtitle D, which determines them to be nonhazardous. The rule is implemented in phases and requires increased groundwater monitoring, reporting, recordkeeping and posting of related information to the Internet. The rule also establishes requirements related to CCR management and disposal. The rule allows NIPSCO to continue its byproduct beneficial use program. To comply with the rule, NIPSCO completed capital expenditures in 2019 to modify its infrastructure and manage CCRs. The CCR rule also resulted in revisions to previously recorded legal obligations associated with the retirement of certain NIPSCO facilities. The actual asset retirement costs related to the CCR rule may vary substantially from the estimates used to record the increased asset retirement obligation due to the uncertainty about the requirements that will be established by environmental authorities, compliance strategies that will be used and the preliminary nature of available data used to estimate costs. As allowed by the rule, NIPSCO will continue to collect data over time to determine the specific compliance solutions and associated costs and, as a result, the actual costs may vary. NIPSCO will also continue to work with EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to obtain administrative approvals associated with the CCR rule. In the event that the approvals are not obtained, future operations could be impacted. We believe the possibility of such an outcome is remote. E. Other Matters. Generation Transition. NIPSCO has executed several PPAs to purchase 100% of the output from renewable generation facilities at a fixed price per MWh. Each facility supplying the energy will have an associated nameplate capacity, and payments under the PPAs will not begin until the associated generation facility is constructed by the owner/seller. NIPSCO has also executed several BTAs with developers to construct renewable generation facilities. NIPSCO's purchase obligation under each respective BTA is dependent on satisfactory approval of the BTA by the IURC, successful execution by NIPSCO of an agreement with a tax equity partner and timely completion of construction. NIPSCO has received IURC approval for all of its BTAs and all but one PPA, which is pending a decision from the IURC. NIPSCO and the tax equity partner are obligated to make cash contributions to the joint venture that acquires the project at the date construction is substantially complete. Once the tax equity partner has earned its negotiated rate of return and we have reached the agreed upon contractual date, NIPSCO has the option to purchase at fair market value from the tax equity partner the remaining interest in the joint venture. One-Time Employee Separation Benefits. Starting in the third quarter of 2020, we evaluated and continue to evaluate our organizational structure under the auspices of NiSource Next. We recognized the majority of the related severance expense in 2020 when employees accepted severance offers, absent a retention period. In addition, we continue to have separations under our existing severance policies. For employees that have a retention period, expense will be recognized over the remaining service period. The total estimated severance expense for employees is approximately $41 million, with substantially all of it incurred to date. A rollforward of the one-time employee separation benefits accrual for the six months ended June 30, 2021 is presented below:
(in millions) | Balance as of January 1, 2021 | Changes Attributable to Costs Incurred(1) | Costs Paid | Adjustments | Balance as of June 30, 2021(2)
One-time Employee Separation Benefits | 11.1 |  | 7.2 |  | (12.4) |  | — |  | 5.9 |
(1)This activity is presented within "Operation and maintenance" in our Condensed Statements of Consolidated Income (Loss) (unaudited). (2)This activity is presented within "Accrued compensation and employee benefits" in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited).

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