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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Legal Proceedings. We are involved in a number of contingencies incidental to the normal conduct of our business including lawsuits, claims and environmental contingencies. The outcome of these contingencies is inherently unpredictable. We believe that, in the aggregate, the outcome of all known contingencies including lawsuits, claims and environmental contingencies will not have a material adverse effect on our financial statements; however, specific outcomes with respect to such contingencies may be material to the financial statements of any particular period in which costs, if any, are recognized. Our assessment of the potential impact of the environmental contingencies is subject to uncertainty due to the complex, ongoing and evolving process of investigation and remediation of such environmental contingencies, and the potential for technological and regulatory developments. In addition, the impact of evolving programs, such as natural resource damage claims, industrial site reuse initiatives and state remediation programs creates further uncertainty of the ultimate resolution of these environmental contingencies. We anticipate that the resolution of many contingencies, and in particular environmental contingencies, will occur over an extended period of time. Environmental Matters. It is our policy to accrue expenses for environmental contingencies when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Reserves for environmental liabilities do not include any potential offsets related to claims against third parties. Our operations and assets are subject to extensive environmental, health and safety regulations, including laws and regulations related to air emissions, water discharges, waste disposal and remediation of contaminated sites, at both the national and local levels in the United States. We are also subject to similar laws and regulations in Canada and other jurisdictions in which we operate. The nature of the chemical and building products industries exposes us to risks of liability under these laws and regulations due to the production, storage, use, transportation and sale of materials that can cause contamination or personal injury, including, in the case of chemicals, potential releases into the environment. Environmental laws may have a significant effect on the costs of use, transportation and storage of raw materials and finished products, as well as the costs of the storage and disposal of wastes. We have and will continue to incur substantial operating and capital costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations. In addition, we may incur substantial costs, including fines, damages, criminal or civil sanctions and remediation costs, or experience interruptions in our operations for violations arising under these laws and regulations. As of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, we had reserves for environmental contingencies totaling approximately $61 million and $64 million, respectively, of which approximately $10 million and $12 million, respectively were classified as a current liability. Our assessment of the potential impact of these environmental contingencies is subject to considerable uncertainty due to the complex, ongoing and evolving process of investigation and remediation, if necessary, of such environmental contingencies, and the potential for technological and regulatory developments. Some of our significant environmental contingencies include the following matters: • We have entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality ("LDEQ") and various other parties for the environmental remediation of a portion of the Bayou d'Inde area of the Calcasieu River Estuary in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Remedy implementation is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2014 and continue for a number of years thereafter, with a period of monitoring for remedy effectiveness to follow remediation. As of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, we have reserved approximately $24 million and $25 million, respectively, for the costs associated with this matter. • As of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, we have reserved approximately $15 million for environmental contingencies related to on-site remediation at the Lake Charles, Louisiana facility that we acquired as part of the Merged Business (the "Lake Charles South Facility") principally for ongoing remediation of groundwater and soil in connection with our corrective action permit issued pursuant to the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The remedial activity is primarily the operation of a series of well water treatment systems across the Lake Charles South Facility. In addition, remediation of possible soil contamination will be conducted in certain areas. These remedial activities are expected to continue for an extended period of time. • As of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, we have reserved approximately $14 million for environmental contingencies related to remediation activities at our Natrium, West Virginia facility. The remedial actions address National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements related to hexachlorocyclohexane, which is commonly referred to as BHC. We expect that these remedial actions will be in place for an extended period of time. Due to the nature of environmental laws, regulations and liabilities, it is possible that the reviews we conducted in connection with our evaluation of, and determination to enter into, the Transactions, may not have identified all potentially adverse conditions. Such conditions may not currently exist or be detectable through reasonable methods, or may not be able to be adequately valued. For example, our Natrium, West Virginia facility and Lake Charles South Facility have both been in operation for over 65 years. There may be significant latent liabilities or future claims arising from the operation of facilities of this age, and we may be required to incur material future remediation or other costs in connection with future actions or developments at these or other facilities. We expect to be continually subjected to increasingly stringent environmental and health and safety laws and regulations, and that continued compliance will require increased capital expenditures and increased operating costs or may impose restrictions on our present or future operations. It is difficult to predict the future interpretation and development of these laws and regulations or their impact on our future earnings and operations. Any increase in these costs, or any material restrictions, could materially adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. However, estimated costs for future environmental compliance and remediation may be materially lower than actual costs, or we may not be able to quantify potential costs in advance. Actual costs related to any environmental compliance in excess of estimated costs could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition in one or more future periods. Heightened interest in environmental regulation, such as climate change issues, has the potential to materially impact our costs and present and future operations. We, and other chemicals companies, are currently required to file certain governmental reports relating to greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions. The U.S. Government has considered, and may in the future implement restrictions or other controls on GHG emissions which could require us to incur significant capital expenditures or further restrict our present or future operations. In addition to GHG regulations, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") has recently taken certain actions to limit or control certain pollutants created by companies such as ours. For example: • In January 2013, the EPA issued Clean Air Act emission standards for boilers and incinerators (the "Boiler MACT regulations"), which are aimed at controlling emissions of toxic air contaminants. The regulations would require covered facilities to comply by January 2016. The coal fired power plant at our Natrium, West Virginia facility would likely be our source most significantly impacted by the Boiler MACT regulations. While we are continuing to review the Boiler MACT regulations' impact on our operations, we believe bringing our operations into compliance with the new regulations will require significant capital expenditures, which we currently estimate at approximately $30 million. In addition, coming into compliance could result in increased operating costs. Because our evaluation of this matter is ongoing, no assurance as to the ultimate impact of the Boiler MACT regulations on our operations or overall business can be provided. • In April 2012, the EPA issued final regulations to update emissions limits for polyvinyls chloride ("PVC") and copolymer production (the "PVC MACT regulation"). The PVC MACT regulation sets standards for major sources of PVC production and establishes certain working practices, as well as monitoring, reporting and record-keeping requirements. We would have until April 2015 to come into compliance. Following the issuance of the PVC MACT regulation, legal challenges were filed by the vinyl industry's trade organization, several vinyl manufacturers and several environmental groups, which will likely impact provisions of the PVC MACT regulation. However, there could be significant changes from the currently existing PVC MACT regulation after all legal challenges have been exhausted, which could require us to incur capital expenditures, or increase our operating costs, to levels significantly higher than what we have previously estimated. • In March 2011, the EPA proposed amendments to the emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for mercury emissions from mercury cell chlor-alkali plants. These proposed amendments would require improvements in work practices to reduce fugitive mercury emissions and would result in reduced levels of mercury emissions while still allowing the mercury cell facilities to continue to operate. We operate a mercury cell production unit at our Natrium, West Virginia facility. No assurances as to the timing or content of the final regulation, or its ultimate cost to, or impact on us, can be provided. The potential impact of these and/or unrelated future, legislative or regulatory actions on our current or future operations cannot be predicted at this time but could be significant. Such impacts could include the potential for significant compliance costs, including capital expenditures, could result in operating restrictions or could require us to incur significant legal or other costs related to compliance or other activities. Any increase in the costs related to these initiatives, or restrictions on our operations, could materially adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations. Environmental Remediation: Reasonably Possible Matters. Our assessment of the potential impact of environmental contingencies is subject to considerable uncertainty due to the complex, ongoing and evolving process of investigation and remediation, if necessary, of such environmental contingencies, and the potential for technological and regulatory developments. As such, in addition to the amounts currently reserved, we may be subject to reasonably possible loss contingencies related to environmental matters in the range of $60 million to $100 million. Initial remedial actions are occurring with respect to these matters at two plant sites: the Lake Charles South Facility and the Natrium Facility. We monitor our estimate for reasonably possible environmental losses on a quarterly basis to determine if any of the reasonably possible loss items have become probable and estimable during the current quarter. It is our policy to accrue expenses for environmental contingencies when management believes the amount of losses are probable and estimable. In addition, when environmental items that were previously reasonably possible become probable and estimable and, therefore, recorded in our condensed consolidated balance sheets and statements of operations, we adjust our environmental reasonably possible exposure range accordingly. Involuntary Conversion of Property, Plant and Equipment. On December 20, 2013, a fire occurred in what is commonly known as the Company's PHH vinyl chloride monomer ("VCM") manufacturing plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The fire impacted several process components of the PHH VCM manufacturing plant. Operations at the plant returned to full service at the end of June 2014. The Company maintains property and business interruption insurance policies that provided coverage for the losses arising from this incident, less applicable deductibles. We believe we will receive net insurance proceeds greater than the carrying value of the assets that were impacted by the fire, related cleanup and other costs. In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, we received and recorded a portion of our insurance claim for the physical property damage to the assets impacted by the fire. We expect to realize and record net gains from these proceeds in future periods.

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