Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

Future minimum obligations under non-cancelable operating leases having an initial or remaining term in excess of one year as of December 31, 2016 are as follows ($ in millions):



2017	$	4.4
2018	4.0
2019	3.3
2020	3.2
2021	3.2
Thereafter	12.0
Total	$	30.1

Rental expense under operating leases was $6.9 million during 2016, $6.8 million during 2015 and $6.1 million during 2014.

Other Commitments

The EP segment's PDM Industries mill has a minimum annual commitment of approximately $2.0 million per year for calcium carbonate purchases, a raw material used in the manufacturing of some paper products, which totals approximately $11.4 million through 2024. Future purchases are expected to be at levels that exceed such minimum levels under these contracts.

The Company enters into certain other immaterial contracts from time to time for the purchase of certain raw materials. The Company also enters into certain contracts for the purchase of equipment and related costs in connection with its ongoing capital projects.

The Company has agreements with an energy cogeneration supplier in France whereby the supplier constructed and operates a cogeneration facility at certain mills and supplies steam that is used in the operation of these mills. The Company is committed to purchasing minimum annual amounts of steam generated by these facilities under the agreements through 2018. These minimum annual commitments total approximately $2.3 million. The Company's current and expected requirements for steam at these facilities are at levels that exceed the minimum levels under the contracts.

The EP segment's Brazilian mill, SWM-B, has an agreement for the transmission and distribution of energy that covers all of the mill's consumption of electrical energy valued at approximately $3.4 million annually through 2020. The French mills have contracts for natural gas to be distributed to and consumed at PdM, LTRI and St. Girons. The value of the natural gas and distribution to be provided under these contracts is estimated at approximately $8.1 million in 2017.

The Company has certain other letters of credit, guarantees and surety bonds outstanding at December 31, 2016, which are not material either individually or in the aggregate.

Litigation

Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Serviços, or ICMS, a form of value-added tax in Brazil, was assessed to our Brazilian subsidiary Schweitzer-Mauduit do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Papel Ltda. ("SWM-B") in December of 2000. SWM-B received two assessments from the tax authorities of the State of Rio de Janeiro for unpaid ICMS taxes on certain raw materials from January 1995 through November 2000, collectively the Raw Materials Assessment.

The Raw Materials Assessments concerned the accrual and use by SWM-B of ICMS tax credits generated from the production and sale of certain non-tobacco related grades of paper sold domestically that are immune from the tax to offset ICMS taxes otherwise owed on the sale of products that are not immune. SWM-B has contested the Raw Materials Assessments based on Article 150, VI of the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988, which grants immunity from ICMS taxes to papers intended for printing books, newspapers and periodicals, or immune papers, and thus to the raw material inputs used to produce immune papers. One of the two assessments, or Assessment 1 (case number 2001.001.115144-5), related in part to tax periods that predated our acquisition of the Pirahy mill in Pirai, Brazil. In October 2015, the Federal Supreme Court denied the State’s appeal of Assessment 1, in the amount of approximately $16 million, a decision which is now final. The second assessment, or Assessment 2 (case number 2001.001.064544-6), pertains exclusively to periods that SWM-B owned the Pirahy mill. Assessment 2 in the amount of approximately $13 million remains pending before the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil on SWM-B’s appeal on the merits and is likely to be finally decided by the action of the chamber of the court hearing the matter. No docket entry has been made yet regarding argument on Assessment 2.

SWM-B has received assessments from the tax authorities of the State of Rio de Janeiro for unpaid ICMS and Fundo Estadual de Combate à Pobreza (FECP) taxes on interstate purchases of electricity. The state issued three assessments against SWM-B, one for May 2006 - November 2007, a second for January 2008 - December 2010, and in October 2013, a third assessment for September 2011 - September 2013, collectively the Electricity Assessment. SWM-B has challenged all three Electricity Assessments in administrative proceedings before the state tax council (Junta de Revisão Fiscal) based on Resolution 1.610/89, which defers these taxes on electricity purchased by an "electricity-intensive consumer."

SWM-B received assessments from the tax authorities of the State of Rio de Janeiro for unpaid ICMS and Fundo Estadual de Combate à Pobreza (FECP, a value-added tax similar to ICMS) taxes on interstate purchases of electricity. The state issued three sets of assessments against SWM-B, one for May 2006 - November 2007, a second for January 2008 - December 2010, and a third for September 2011 - September 2013, collectively the Electricity Assessments. SWM-B has challenged all three Electricity Assessments in administrative proceedings before the state tax council (in the first-level court Junta de Revisão Fiscal and the appellate court Conselho de Contribuintes) based on Resolution 1.610/89, which defers these taxes on electricity purchased by an "electricity-intensive consumer." In October and November 2014, a majority of the Conselho de Contribuintes sitting en banc ruled against SWM-B in each of the first and second electricity assessments. The State issued notices to SWM-B to pay approximately $5 million in the first electricity assessment and $9 million in the second electricity assessment, based on the foreign currency exchange rate at December 31, 2016. SWM-B filed separate challenges to these electricity assessments in further court proceedings in the state judicial system, and different chambers of the judicial court granted SWM-B preliminary injunctions against enforcement. SWM-B's challenge to the third electricity assessment (approximately $4 million as of December 31, 2016) was decided adversely to SWM-B at the first administrative level (Junta de Revisão Fiscal) and has been appealed to the Conselho de Contribuintes.

SWM-B believes that both the remaining Raw Materials Assessment and the Electricity Assessments will ultimately be resolved in its favor. No liability has been recorded in our consolidated financial statements for these assessments based on our evaluation of these matters under the facts and law as presently understood. The Company can give no assurance as to the ultimate outcome of such proceedings.

Environmental Matters

The Company's operations are subject to various nations' federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances relating to environmental matters. The nature of the Company's operations exposes it to the risk of claims with respect to various environmental matters, and there can be no assurance that material costs or liabilities will not be incurred in connection with such claims. While the Company has incurred in the past several years, and will continue to incur, capital and operating expenditures in order to comply with environmental laws and regulations, it believes that its future cost of compliance with environmental laws, regulations and ordinances, and its exposure to liability for environmental claims and its obligation to participate in the remediation and monitoring of certain hazardous waste disposal sites, will not have a material effect on its financial condition or results of operations. However, future events, such as changes in existing laws and regulations, or unknown contamination of sites owned, operated or used for waste disposal by the Company (including contamination caused by prior owners and operators of such sites or other waste generators) may give rise to additional costs which could have a material effect on its financial condition or results of operations.

The Company incurs spending necessary to meet legal requirements and otherwise relating to the protection of the environment at its facilities in the United States, France, Poland, Brazil, China and Canada. For these purposes, the Company incurred total capital expenditures of $2.8 million in 2016, and expects to incur less than $1.0 million in each of 2017 and 2018, of which no material amount is the result of environmental fines or settlements. The foregoing capital expenditures are not expected to reduce the Company's ability to invest in other appropriate and necessary capital projects and are not expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.

Indemnification Matters

In connection with its spin-off from Kimberly-Clark in 1995, the Company undertook to indemnify and hold Kimberly-Clark harmless from claims and liabilities related to the businesses transferred to it that were not identified as excluded liabilities in the related agreements. As of December 31, 2016, there are no claims pending under this indemnification that the Company deems to be material.

General Matters

In the ordinary course of conducting business activities, the Company and its subsidiaries become involved in certain other judicial, administrative and regulatory proceedings involving both private parties and governmental authorities. These proceedings include insured and uninsured regulatory, employment, intellectual property, general and commercial liability, environmental and other matters. At this time, the Company does not expect any of these proceedings to have a material effect on its reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, the Company can give no assurance that the results of any such proceedings will not materially affect its reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.