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Commitments and Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2011
Commitments and Contingencies |
Commitments and Contingencies |
Note 13—Commitments and Contingencies Litigation SemCrude L.P., et al — Debtors/Associated Producers/Orange Creek Energy (U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Delaware). We will from time to time have claims relating to insolvent suppliers, customers or counterparties, such as the bankruptcy proceedings of SemCrude, which commenced in July 2008. Statutory protections and our contractual rights of setoff covered substantially all of our pre-petition claims against SemCrude and such claims have now been resolved. In separate actions certain creditors of SemCrude have also filed state court actions alleging a producer’s lien on crude oil sold to SemCrude and its affiliates, and the continuation of such lien when SemCrude and its affiliates subsequently sold the oil to purchasers such as us. On May 29, 2009, we filed a complaint for declaratory relief to resolve these claims. Fourteen state court actions have been consolidated in Bankruptcy Court. One action is in Federal Court in Texas. We intend to vigorously defend our contractual and statutory rights. ExxonMobil Corp. v. GATX Corp. (Superior Court of New Jersey — Gloucester County). This Pacific legacy matter was filed by ExxonMobil in April 2003 and involves the allocation of responsibility for remediation of MTBE and other petroleum product contamination at the terminal facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey operated by Plains Product Terminals LLC (formerly Pacific Atlantic Terminals LLC) (“PPT”), which we acquired in the Pacific merger. Both ExxonMobil and GATX were prior owners of the terminal. We have entered into a Settlement Agreement with the State of New Jersey and Kinder Morgan (as successor in interest to GATX), which requires PPT and Kinder Morgan to install and implement an MTBE environmental restoration and monitoring program. We estimate the cost to Plains for this program will be approximately $2.5 million, which amount may be higher or lower depending on the nature and extent of the cleanup. Court approval of the settlement is pending. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. ExxonMobil Corp. et al. In a matter related to ExxonMobil v. GATX, in June 2007, the NJDEP brought suit against GATX, ExxonMobil and PPT to recover natural resources damages associated with, and to require remediation of, the contamination at our Paulsboro terminal facility. ExxonMobil and GATX have filed third-party demands against PPT, seeking indemnity and contribution. The natural resources damages have been settled and set at $1.1 million payable to the State of New Jersey. PPT’s allocated share of this liability is $550,000. Court approval of the settlement is pending. EPA v. Rocky Mountain Pipeline System. In February 2009, we received a request for information from EPA regarding aspects of the fuel handling activities of RMPS, a subsidiary acquired in the Pacific merger, at two truck terminals in Colorado. After responding to the request, we received a notice of violations from EPA, alleging failure of RMPS to comply with provisions of the Clean Air Act related to registration, sampling, recording and reporting in connection with such activities. EPA further alleged that the violations occurred on an ongoing basis from October 2006 through February 2009. EPA referred the matter to the DOJ. Settlement discussions resulted in a Consent Decree effective as of July 12, 2011. The Decree includes provision for a penalty of $2.5 million and a commitment to an environmental project at an estimated cost of $250,000. General. In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal proceedings. To the extent we are able to assess the likelihood of a negative outcome for these proceedings, our assessments of such likelihood range from remote to probable. If we determine that a negative outcome is probable and the amount of loss is reasonably estimable, we accrue the estimated amount. We do not believe that the outcome of these legal proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will have a materially adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Although we believe that our operations are presently in material compliance with applicable requirements, as we acquire and incorporate additional assets it is possible that EPA or other governmental entities may seek to impose fines, penalties or performance obligations on us (or on a portion of our operations) as a result of any past noncompliance whether such noncompliance initially developed before or after our acquisition. Environmental General Although we believe that our efforts to enhance our leak prevention and detection capabilities have produced positive results, we have experienced (and likely will experience future) releases of hydrocarbon products into the environment from our pipeline and storage operations. As we expand our pipeline assets through acquisitions, we typically improve on (reduce) the releases from such assets (in terms of frequency or volume) as we implement our integrity management procedures, remove selected assets from service and spend capital to upgrade the assets. However, the inclusion of additional miles of pipe in our operations may result in an increase in the absolute number of releases company-wide compared to prior periods. These releases can result from unpredictable man-made or natural forces and may reach “navigable waters” or other sensitive environments. Whether current or past, damages and liabilities associated with any such releases from our assets may substantially affect our business. At June 30, 2011, our reserve for environmental liabilities, including the reserve related to our Rainbow Pipeline release as discussed further below, totaled approximately $122 million, of which approximately $64 million was classified as short-term and $58 million was classified as long-term. At December 31, 2010, our reserve for environmental liabilities totaled approximately $66 million, of which approximately $10 million was classified as short-term and $56 million was classified as long-term. At June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, we had recorded receivables totaling approximately $64 million and $5 million, respectively, for amounts probable of recovery under insurance and from third parties under indemnification agreements. In some cases, the actual cash expenditures may not occur for three to five years. Our estimates used in these reserves are based on information currently available to us and our assessment of the ultimate outcome. Among the many uncertainties that impact our estimates are the necessary regulatory approvals for, and potential modification of, our remediation plans, the limited amount of data available upon initial assessment of the impact of soil or water contamination, changes in costs associated with environmental remediation services and equipment and the possibility of existing legal claims giving rise to additional claims. Therefore, although we believe that the reserve is adequate, costs incurred may be in excess of the reserve and may potentially have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Rainbow Pipeline Release On April 29, 2011, we experienced a crude oil release on a remote section of our Rainbow Pipeline located in Alberta, Canada. Upon detection of the release, approximately 45 miles of the pipeline were isolated and depressurized and emergency response personnel were mobilized to conduct clean-up operations in cooperation with the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (“ERCB”). We currently estimate that approximately 28,000 barrels of crude oil were released, which affected a site of approximately 40 acres located primarily on the pipeline right-of-way. Although clean-up operations and contamination monitoring continue, we completed the pipeline repair and have completed additional regulatory requested pipeline inspections and information requests and await regulatory approval to restart the north section of the pipeline. We estimate that the aggregate total cost to clean-up and remediate the site, before insurance recoveries, is $72 million. This estimate considers our prior experience in environmental investigation and remediation matters, as well as available data from, and in consultation with, our environmental specialists. This estimate is subject to uncertainties caused by the dynamic nature of site conditions, the range of remediation alternatives available and the corresponding costs of various clean-up methodologies. Accordingly, it is likely that adjustments to this liability estimate may be necessary as further information and circumstances regarding the site characterization develop. Also, we currently are awaiting approval from regulatory agencies regarding certain portions of our remediation plan, which will determine the nature of the remaining remediation efforts. The outcome of the regulatory agencies’ review, along with various other factors such as adverse weather and temperature changes, could escalate our total cost. Although actual remediation costs may be more than amounts accrued, we believe we have established adequate reserves for all probable and reasonably estimable costs. We currently expect that the clean-up and remediation efforts, excluding long-term site monitoring activities, will be substantially completed by the first quarter of 2012. We have accrued the total estimated costs to operating expense on our condensed consolidated income statement. As of June 30, 2011, we have a remaining undiscounted gross environmental remediation liability of $58 million. This liability is presented as a current liability within the caption “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet. We maintain insurance coverage, which is subject to certain exclusions and deductibles, to protect us against such environmental liabilities. This coverage is adequate to cover the current estimated total remediation costs, and management believes that this coverage is also adequate to cover any potential remediation costs that may be in excess of amounts currently identified. We therefore have recognized a receivable of $59 million as of June 30, 2011 for the portion of this liability that we believe is probable of recovery from insurance, net of deductibles. This receivable has been recognized as a current asset within the caption “Trade accounts receivable and other receivables, net” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet with the offset reducing operating expense on our condensed consolidated income statement. Insurance A pipeline, terminal or other facility may experience damage as a result of an accident, natural disaster or terrorist activity. These hazards can cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment, pollution or environmental damage and suspension of operations. We maintain insurance of various types that we consider adequate to cover our operations and certain assets. The insurance policies are subject to deductibles or self-insured retentions that we consider reasonable. Our insurance does not cover every potential risk associated with operating pipelines, terminals and other facilities, including the potential loss of significant revenues. The occurrence of a significant event not fully insured, indemnified or reserved against, or the failure of a party to meet its indemnification obligations, could materially and adversely affect our operations and financial condition. We believe we are adequately insured for public liability and property damage to others with respect to our operations. With respect to all of our coverage, we may not be able to maintain adequate insurance in the future at rates we consider reasonable. As a result, we may elect to self-insure or utilize higher deductibles in certain insurance programs. For example, the market for hurricane-or windstorm-related property damage coverage has remained difficult the last few years. The amount of coverage available has been limited, and costs have increased substantially with the combination of premiums and deductibles for the 2010 renewal totaling 20% or more of the coverage limit. For the last two years we have purchased a hurricane limit of $10 million to cover property and business interruption, representing substantially the level of insurance that was available. The coverage provided by these policies contained much stricter limitations than the insurance policies available prior to hurricanes Rita and Katrina. As a result of these conditions, we have decided not to purchase this coverage for 2011/12 and will self-insure this risk. This decision does not affect our third-party liability insurance, which still covers hurricane-related liability claims, and we expect to renew our liability insurance tower at our historic levels. In addition, although we believe that we have established adequate reserves to the extent such risks are not insured, costs incurred in excess of these reserves may be higher and may potentially have a material adverse effect on our financial conditions, results of operations or cash flows.

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- Definition Includes disclosure of commitments and contingencies. This element may be used as a single block of text to encapsulate the entire disclosure including data and tables. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 14 -Paragraph 3 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 5 -Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12 + Details
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