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Commitments, Contingencies and Legal Proceedings | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments, Contingencies and Legal Proceedings |
17. | COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Fox River – Neenah, Wisconsin Background. We have significant uncertainties associated with environmental claims arising out of the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) in sediments in the lower Fox River, on which our former Neenah facility was located, and in the Bay of Green Bay Wisconsin (collectively, the “Site”). Since the early 1990s, the United States, the State of Wisconsin and two Indian tribes (collectively, the “Governments”) have pursued a cleanup of a 39-mile stretch of river from Little Lake Butte des Morts into Green Bay and natural resource damages (“NRDs”). After giving effect to settlements reached with the Governments, the remaining potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) consist of us, Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, L.P. (formerly known as Fort James Operating Company), and NCR Corporation (“NCR”). The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has divided the Site into five “operable units”, including the most upstream and portion of the site on which our facility was located (“OU1”) and four downstream reaches of the river and bay (“OU2-5”). The Site has been subject to certain studies and the parties conducted certain demonstration projects and completed certain interim cleanups. The permanent cleanup, known as a “remedial action” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”), consists of sediment dredging, installation of engineered caps, and placement of sand covers in various areas in the bed of the river. We and WTM I Company implemented the remedial action in OU1 under a consent decree with the Governments; Menasha Corporation made a financial contribution to that work. That project began in 2004 and the work is complete other than on-going monitoring and maintenance. For the downstream portion of the Site, referred to as OU2-5, work has proceeded primarily under a Unilateral Administrative Order (“UAO”) issued in November 2007 by the EPA to us and seven other respondents. The remedial actions have been funded, to date, primarily by NCR and its indemnitors, including Appvion, Inc. (formerly known as Appleton Papers Inc.). Work is scheduled to continue in OU2-5 through 2017, with monitoring and maintenance to follow. Although we have not contributed funds towards remedial actions other than in OU1, as more fully discussed below, significant uncertainties exist pertaining to the ultimate allocation of OU2-5 remediation costs as well as the shorter term funding of the remedial actions for OU2-5. Cost estimates. Estimates of the Site remediation change over time as we, or others, gain additional data and experience at the Site. In addition, disagreement exists over the likely costs for some of this work. On October 14, 2014, the Governments represented to the United States District Court in Green Bay that $1.1 billion provided an “upper end estimate of total past and future response costs” including a $100 million “uncertainty premium for future response costs.” Based upon estimates made by the Governments and independent estimates commissioned by various potentially responsible parties, we have no reason to disagree with the Governments’ assertion. Much of that amount has already been incurred, including approximately $100 million for OU1 and what we believe to be approximately $500 million for OU2-5. The Governments previously indicated their expectation to have work in OU2-5 completed at a rate estimated to cost at least $70 million in 2015 and 2016 and at lower rates thereafter. We understand the cost for the 2015 dredging season may total nearly $90 million. As the result of a partial settlement, Georgia-Pacific has no obligation to pay for work upstream of a line near Georgia-Pacific’s Green Bay West Mill located in OU4. We believe substantially all in-water work upstream of this line has been completed as of the end of the 2014 dredging season. NRDs. The Governments’ NRD assessment documents originally claimed we are jointly and severally responsible for NRDs with a value between $176 million and $333 million. The Governments claimed this range should be inflated to current dollars and then certain unreimbursed past assessment costs should be added, so the range of their claim was $287 million to $423 million in 2009. However, on October 14, 2014, the Governments represented to the district court that if certain settlements providing $45.9 million toward compensation of NRDs were approved the total NRD recovery would amount to $105 million. The Governments would consider those recoveries adequate and they would withdraw their claims against us and NCR for additional compensation of NRDs. Some of the settling parties, including all of the settling parties contributing the $45.9 million, have waived their rights to seek contribution from us of the settlement amounts. We previously paid a portion of the other $59 million in earlier settlements. Allocation Litigation. In January 2008, NCR and Appvion brought an action in the federal district court in Green Bay to allocate among all of the parties responsible for this Site all of the costs incurred by the Governments, all of the costs incurred by the parties, and all of the NRDs owed to the Natural Resource Trustees. We have previously referred to this case as the “Whiting Litigation.” After several summary judgment rulings and a trial, the trial court entered judgment in the Whiting Litigation, allocating to NCR 100 percent of the costs (a) of the OU2-5 cleanup, (b) NRDs, (c) past and future costs incurred by the Governments in OU2-5, and (d) past and future costs incurred by any of the other parties net of an appropriate equitable adjustment for insurance recoveries. As to Glatfelter, NCR was judged liable to us for $4.28 million and any future costs or damages we may incur. NCR was held not responsible for costs incurred in OU1. All parties appealed the Whiting Litigation judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On September 25, 2014, that court affirmed, holding that if knowledge and fault were the only equitable factors governing allocation of costs and NRDs at the Site, NCR would owe 100% of all costs and damages in OU2-5, but would not have a share of costs in OU1, which is upstream of the outfall of the facilities for which NCR is responsible. However, the court of appeals vacated the judgment and remanded the case for the district court’s further consideration of whether any other equitable factors might cause the district court to alter its allocation. We contend the district court should, after further consideration, reinstate the 100%, or some similar very high, allocation to NCR of all the costs, and we should bear no share or a very small share. However, in the interim NCR may take a contrary position and seek contributions from others for future work until all allocation issues are resolved. In order to ensure compliance with the UAO and to ensure work continues in OU2-5, in the absence of an agreement amongst us, NCR and Georgia-Pacific, it is possible the Governments may attempt to force the funding while a final allocation in the Whiting Litigation is pursued. We cannot predict the outcome of any such actions or any possible resulting litigation. Therefore, in the interim it is conceivable we may be required to contribute resources to fund a portion of the annual cost of remedial actions in OU2-5. Although we are unable to determine with any degree of certainty the amount we may fund, such amounts could be significant. Any amounts we pay or any other party pays in the interim are likely to be subject to reallocation when the Whiting Litigation is resolved. We do not know the timing of further proceedings in the Whiting Litigation, nor can we predict when it will be finally resolved. Appvion and NCR have had a cost-sharing agreement since at least 1998. The court of appeals held if Appvion incurred any recoverable costs because the Governments had named Appvion as a potentially responsible party rather than as a consequence of Appvion’s obligations to NCR, then Appvion may have a right to recover those costs under CERCLA. We contend Appvion has no such costs, and if it did, we would have a right to contribution of any recovery against NCR and others. Enforcement Litigation. In October 2010, the United States and the State of Wisconsin brought an action (“Government Action”) in the federal district court in Green Bay against us and 13 other defendants seeking (a) to recover all of their unreimbursed past costs, (b) a declaration of joint and several liability for all of their future costs, (c) NRDs, and (d) a declaration of liability of all of the respondents on the UAO to perform the remedy in OU2-5 as required by the UAO and a mandatory permanent injunction to the same effect. The last of these claims was tried in 2012, and in May 2013, the district court enjoined us, NCR, WTM I, and Menasha Corp. to perform the work under the UAO. As the result of partial settlements, U.S. Paper Mills Corp. and Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products L.P. agreed to joint and several liability for some of the work. Appvion was held not liable for this Site under CERCLA. All other potentially responsible parties, including the United States and the State of Wisconsin, have either settled with the Governments or entered into a consent decree that awaits approval from the United States and then the district court. As a result, the remaining defendants consist of us, NCR, and Georgia-Pacific. We appealed the injunction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, as did NCR, WTM I, and Menasha. On September 25, 2014, the court of appeals decided our and NCR’s appeals; the others’ appeals were not decided because they have entered into a settlement that awaits approval. The court of appeals vacated the injunction as to us and NCR. However, it affirmed the district court’s ruling that we are liable for response actions in OU2-5 and for complying with the UAO. Except as described above with respect to the claim for NRDs, we do not know the Governments’ intentions concerning further litigation of the Government Action, nor do we know the schedule for any further proceedings. We cannot now predict when it will be resolved. Reserves for the Site. As of September 30, 2014, our reserve for the Site totaled $16.3 million, including our remediation and ongoing monitoring obligations in OU1, our share of remediation of the rest of the Site, NRDs and all pending, threatened or asserted and unasserted claims against us relating to PCB contamination at the Site. Of our total reserve for the Fox River, $0.1 million is recorded in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets under the caption “Environmental liabilities” and the remainder is recorded under the caption “Other long term liabilities.” In the event we are required to fund remediation activities in OU2-5, such developments would affect the classification of the current portion of our reserve. As described above, the appellate court vacated and remanded for reconsideration the district court’s ruling in the Whiting Litigation that NCR would bear 100% of costs for the downstream portion of the Site. We continue to believe we will not be allocated a significant share of liability in any final equitable allocation of the response costs for OU2-5 or for NRDs. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include reserves for any future defense costs, which could be significant, related to our involvement at the Site. In setting our reserve for the Site, we have assessed our legal defenses, including our successful defenses to the allegations made in the Whiting Litigation and the original determination in the Whiting Litigation that NCR owes us “full contribution” for response costs and for NRDs that we may become obligated to pay except in OU1. We assume we will not bear the entire cost of remediation or damages to the exclusion of other known parties at the Site, who are also jointly and severally liable. The existence and ability of other parties to participate has also been taken into account in setting our reserve, and setting our reserve is generally based on our evaluation of recent publicly available financial information on certain of the responsible parties and any known insurance, indemnity or cost sharing agreements between responsible parties and third parties. In addition, we have considered the magnitude, nature, location and circumstances associated with the various discharges of PCBs to the river and the relationship of those discharges to identified contamination. We will continue to evaluate our exposure and the level of our reserves, including, but not limited to, our potential share of the costs and NRDs, if any, associated with the Site. Other Information. The Governments have published studies estimating the amount of PCBs discharged by each identified potentially responsible party to the lower Fox River and Green Bay. These reports estimate our Neenah mill’s share of the mass of PCBs discharged to be as high as 27 percent. The district court has found the discharge mass estimates used in these studies not to be accurate. We believe the Neenah mill’s absolute and relative contribution of PCB mass is significantly lower than the estimates set forth in these studies. The trial court in the Government Action has found that the Neenah mill discharged an unknown amount of PCBs. Based upon the rulings in the Whiting Litigation and the Government Action, neither of which endorsed an equitable allocation in proportion to the mass of PCBs discharged, we continue to believe an allocation in proportion to mass of PCBs discharged would not constitute an equitable allocation of the potential liability for the contamination at the Fox River. We contend other factors, such as a party’s role in causing costs, the location of discharge, and the location of contamination must be considered in order for the allocation to be equitable. Range of Reasonably Possible Outcomes. Our analysis of the range of reasonably possible outcomes is derived from all available information, including but not limited to decisions of the courts, official documents such as records of decision, discussions with the United States and other parties, as well as legal counsel and engineering consultants. Based on our analysis of the current records of decision and cost estimates for work to be performed at the Site, and substantially dependent on the resolution of the allocation arguments discussed above, we believe it is reasonably possible that our costs associated with the Fox River matter could exceed the aggregate amounts accrued for the Fox River matter by amounts ranging from insignificant to $185 million. We expect remediation costs to be incurred primarily over the next two to three years, although we are unable to determine with any degree of certainty whether we will be required to share in the funding of the downstream remediation. We believe the likelihood of an outcome in the upper end of the monetary range is significantly less than other possible outcomes within the range and the possibility of an outcome in excess of the upper end of the monetary range is remote. However, we cannot predict the outcome of any actions related to interim funding. To the extent we are required to provide any such interim funding, we contend that NCR or another party would be required to reimburse us once the final allocation is determined. Summary. Our current assessment is we will be able to manage this environmental matter without a long-term, material adverse impact on the Company. This matter could, however, at any particular time or for any particular year or years, have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, liquidity and/or results of operations or could result in a default under our debt covenants. Moreover, there can be no assurance our reserves will be adequate to provide for future obligations related to this matter, or our share of costs and/or damages will not exceed our available resources, or those obligations will not have a long-term, material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations. Should a court grant the United States or the State of Wisconsin relief requiring us individually either to perform directly or to contribute significant amounts towards remedial action downstream of Little Lake Butte des Morts those developments could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, liquidity and results of operations and might result in a default under our loan covenants.

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