Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

Portland Harbor Superfund Site

In December 2000, a section of the lower Willamette River known as the Portland Harbor Superfund Site was included on the National Priorities List at the request of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“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. Also in December 2000, the Company was notified by the EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (“ODEQ”) of potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). A remedial investigation and feasibility study of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site was directed by a group of 14 potentially responsible parties known as the Lower Willamette Group under agreement with the EPA. The EPA finalized the remedial investigation report in February 2016, and the feasibility study in June 2016, which identified multiple remedial alternatives. In January 2017, the EPA issued its Record of Decision selecting the remedy for cleanup at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, which it believes will cost approximately $1 billion and 13 years to complete. The EPA has not yet determined who is responsible for the costs of cleanup or how the cleanup costs will be allocated among the more than 150 potentially responsible parties. Because of the large number of potentially responsible parties and the variability in the range of remediation alternatives, 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 Superfund Site matters, and no further adjustment to the Consolidated Financial Statements has been recorded as of the date of this filing.

The ODEQ is separately providing oversight of voluntary investigations and source control activities by the Company involving the Company’s site, which are focused on controlling any current “uplands” releases of contaminants into the Willamette River. No liabilities have been established in connection with these investigations because the extent of contamination and the Company’s responsibility for the contamination have not yet been determined.

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 Superfund Site to determine the nature and extent of natural resource damages under CERCLA Section 107. The Trustees for the Portland Harbor Superfund 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 June 2014, the Company agreed to participate in the injury assessment process, which included funding $0.4 million of the assessment. The Company has not assumed any additional payment obligations or liabilities with the participation with the NRDA, nor does the Company expect to incur significant future costs in the resolution of the NRDA.

In January 2017, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, a Trustee until they withdrew from the council in 2009, filed a complaint against the potentially responsible parties including the Company to recover costs related to their own injury assessment and compensation for natural resources damages. The Company does not have sufficient information to determine the likelihood of a loss in this matter or the amount of damages that could be allocated to the Company.

The Company has insurance policies for defense costs, as well as indemnification policies it believes will provide reimbursement for the remediation assessed. However, the Company can provide no assurance that those policies will cover all of the costs which the Company may incur.

All Sites

The Company operates its facilities under numerous governmental permits and licenses relating to air emissions, stormwater runoff, and other environmental matters. The Company’s 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. The Company believes it is in material compliance with its permits and licenses and these laws and regulations, and the Company does not believe that future compliance with such laws and regulations will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Other Contingencies and Legal Proceedings

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. To the extent that insurance does not cover legal, defense, and indemnification costs associated with a loss contingency, the Company records accruals when such losses are considered probable and reasonably estimable. The Company believes that it is not presently a party to litigation, the outcome of which would have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

On April 21, 2019, there was an accidental fire at the Company’s Saginaw, Texas facility which resulted in damage to the coatings building. There were no injuries, but the ability to coat at this facility was impaired while the Company repaired the damage. The Company’s other production locations were deployed to absorb the lost production that resulted. The Company has insurance coverage in place covering, among other things, business interruption and property damage up to certain specified amounts, and worked with its insurance company to restore the facility to full service as safely and quickly as possible. The Saginaw facility resumed operations in October 2019. The Company received $1.4 million of business interruption insurance recovery (net of incremental production costs) during the year ended December 31, 2020 and incurred $1.6 million of incremental production costs (net of business interruption insurance recovery) during the year ended December 31, 2019, which were recorded in Cost of sales.

Commitments

As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s commitments include approximately $10 million relating to its investment in a new reinforced concrete pipe mill for which the Company has not yet received the equipment.

Guarantees

The Company has entered into certain letters of credit that total $1.6 million as of December 31, 2021. The letters of credit relate to workers’ compensation insurance.