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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
6. Commitments and Contingencies

Portland Harbor Superfund

On December 1, 2000, a section of the lower Willamette River known as the Portland Harbor was included on the National Priorities List at the request of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”). While the Company’s Portland, Oregon manufacturing facility does not border the Willamette River, an outfall from the facility’s stormwater system drains into a neighboring property’s privately owned stormwater system and slip. Since the listing of the site, the Company was notified by the EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (the “ODEQ”) of potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). In 2008, the Company was asked to file information disclosure reports with the EPA (CERCLA 104 (e) information request). By agreement with the EPA, the ODEQ is responsible for overseeing remedial investigation and source control activities for all upland sites to investigate sources and prevent future contamination to the river. A remedial investigation and feasibility study (“RI/FS”) of the Portland Harbor has been directed by a group of potentially responsible parties known as the Lower Willamette Group (the “LWG”) under agreement with the EPA. The Company made a payment of $175,000 to the LWG in June 2007 as part of an interim settlement, and is under no obligation to make any further payment. The final draft RI was submitted to the EPA by the LWG in fall of 2011 and the draft FS was submitted by the LWG to the EPA in March 2012. As of the date of this filing, the final RI and the revised FS are scheduled to be submitted to the EPA in the Spring of 2014.

 

In 2001, groundwater containing elevated volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) was identified in one localized area of leased property adjacent to the Portland facility furthest from the river. Assessment work in 2002 and 2003 to further characterize the groundwater was consistent with the initial conclusion that the source of the VOCs is located off of Company-owned property. In February 2005, the Company entered into a Voluntary Agreement for Remedial Investigation and Source Control Measures (the “Agreement”) with the ODEQ. The Company is one of many Upland Source Control Sites working with the ODEQ on Source Control and is considered a “medium” priority site by the ODEQ. The Company performed remedial investigation (“RI”) work required under the Agreement and submitted a draft RI/Source Control Evaluation Report in December 2005. The conclusions of the report indicated that the VOCs found in the groundwater do not present an unacceptable risk to human or ecological receptors in the Willamette River. The report also indicated there is no evidence at this time showing a connection between detected VOCs in groundwater and Willamette River sediments. In 2009, the ODEQ requested that the Company revise its RI/Source Control Evaluation Report from 2005 to include more recent information from focused supplemental sampling at the Portland facility and more recent information that has become available related to nearby properties. The Company submitted the Expanded Risk Assessment for the VOCs in Groundwater in May 2012. In February 2013, the ODEQ requested the Company revise the presented information in the 2012 Expanded Risk Assessment for the VOCs in Groundwater a second time, for submittal with the Final RI/Source Control Evaluation report in the fourth quarter of 2013 or first half of 2014.

Also, based on sampling associated with the Portland facility’s RI and on sampling and reporting required under the Portland, Oregon manufacturing facility’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for storm water, the Company and the ODEQ have periodically detected low concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (“PAHs”), polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”), and trace amounts of zinc in storm water. Storm water from the Portland, Oregon manufacturing facility site is discharged into a communal storm water system that ultimately discharges into the neighboring property’s privately owned slip. The slip was historically used for shipbuilding and subsequently for ship breaking and metal recycling. Studies of the river sediments have revealed trace concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and zinc, along with other constituents which are common constituents in urban storm water discharges. To minimize the pollutants in its storm water, the Company painted a substantial part of the Portland facility’s roofs in 2009 and installed a storm water treatment system in 2012. Stormwater discharge has remained below storm water benchmark levels ever since.

Under the ODEQ Agreement, the Company submitted a Final Supplemental Work Plan to evaluate and assess soil and storm water, and further assess groundwater risk, as requested by the ODEQ. The Company submitted a remediation plan related to soil contamination, which the ODEQ approved. The Company has completed the approved remediation plan in 2011 and 2012, which included the excavation of localized soil and paving pervious surfaces. A final report on storm water source control with the Final RI/Source Control Evaluation report will be submitted in the fourth quarter of 2013 or the first half of 2014.

During the localized soil excavation in 2011, additional stained soil was discovered. At the request of the ODEQ, the Company developed an additional Work Plan to characterize the nature and extent of soil and/or groundwater impacts from the staining. The Company began implementing this Work Plan in the second quarter of 2012 and submitted sampling results to the ODEQ in the third quarter of 2012. Comments from the ODEQ were received in November 2012. In February 2013, the ODEQ clarified its comments from November 2012, and the Company has completed its second round of groundwater sampling for the Stained Soil Investigation Area. The results will be reported to ODEQ in the fourth quarter of 2013 or the first half of 2014.

The Company anticipates having to spend less than $0.1 million for further Source Control work in 2013.

Concurrent with the activities of the EPA and the ODEQ, the Portland Harbor Natural Resources Trustee Council (“Trustees”) sent some or all of the same parties, including the Company, a notice of intent to perform a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (“NRDA”) for the Portland Harbor Site to determine the nature and extent of natural resource damages under CERCLA section 107. The Trustees for the Portland Harbor Site consist of representatives from several Northwest Indian Tribes, three federal agencies and one state agency. The Trustees act independently of the EPA and the ODEQ. The Trustees have encouraged potentially responsible parties to voluntarily participate in the funding of their injury assessments and several of those parties have agreed to do so. In 2009, one of the Tribal Trustees (the Yakima Nation) resigned and has requested funding from the same parties to support its own assessment. The Company has not assumed any payment obligation or liability related to either request.

 

At this time, the Company is unable to estimate an amount or an amount within a range of costs for its obligation with respect to the Portland Harbor matters, and no further adjustment to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements has been recorded as of September 30, 2013.

All Sites

We operate our facilities under numerous governmental permits and licenses relating to air emissions, storm water run-off, and other environmental matters. Our operations are also governed by many other laws and regulations, including those relating to workplace safety and worker health, principally the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations there under which, among other requirements, establish noise and dust standards. We believe we are in material compliance with our permits and licenses and these laws and regulations, and we do not believe that future compliance with such laws and regulations will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

From time to time, the Company is involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of its operations in the normal course of its business. The Company maintains insurance coverage against potential claims in amounts that are believed to be adequate. The Company believes that it is not presently a party to any other litigation, the outcome of which would have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Guarantees

The Company has entered into certain stand-by letters of credit that total $3.1 million at September 30, 2013. The stand-by letters of credit relate to workers’ compensation insurance and equipment financing.