LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are party to various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. We are not currently a party to any legal proceeding that management believes could have a material adverse effect on our Consolidated Balance Sheet, Consolidated Statement of Operations, or Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. See Note 18: Income Taxes for a discussion of a tax proceeding involving Plum Creek's 2008 U.S. federal income tax return.

ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

Site Remediation

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) – commonly known as the Superfund – and similar state laws, we:


•	are a party to various proceedings related to the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and


•	have been notified that we may be a potentially responsible party related to the cleanup of other hazardous waste sites for which proceedings have not yet been initiated.

We have received notification from the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) and have acknowledged that we are a potentially responsible party in a portion of the Kalamazoo River Superfund site in southwest Michigan. Our involvement in the remediation site is based on our former ownership of the Plainwell, Michigan mill located within the remediation site. Several other companies also have been deemed potentially responsible parties as past or present owners or operators of facilities within the site, or as arrangers under CERCLA.

We are currently cooperating with other parties to jointly implement an administrative order issued by the EPA on April 14, 2016, with respect to a portion of the site comprising a stretch of the river approximately 1.7 miles long referred to as the Otsego Township Dam Area. We do not expect to incur material losses related to the implementation of this administrative order.

In 2010, the company, along with others, was named as a defendant by Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP, Fort James Corporation and Georgia-Pacific LLC in an action seeking contribution under CERCLA for remediation costs relating to a certain area within the site. On March 29, 2018, the U.S. District Court issued an opinion and order assigning the company responsibility for five percent of approximately $50 million in past costs incurred by the plaintiffs. The remaining ninety-five percent of this pool of past costs incurred was allocated to the plaintiffs and other defendants.

The opinion and order does not establish allocation for future remediation costs, and accordingly, we may incur additional costs in connection with future remediation tasks for other areas of the site. In connection with the opinion and order, we have updated our best estimate of the liability associated with the site and have recorded a pretax charge of $28 million in the first quarter as "Other operating costs, net" on the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

As of June 30, 2018, our total accrual for future estimated remediation costs on the active Superfund sites and other sites for which we are potentially responsible was approximately $69 million. These amounts are recorded in "Accrued liabilities" and "Other liabilities" on our Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Asset Retirement Obligations

We have obligations associated with the future retirement of tangible long-lived assets consisting primarily of reforestation obligations related to forest management licenses in Canada and obligations to close and cap landfills. As of June 30, 2018, our accrued balance for these obligations was $32 million. These obligations are recorded in "Accrued liabilities" and "Other liabilities" on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The accruals have not changed significantly since December 31, 2017.

Some of our sites have materials containing asbestos. We have met our current legal obligation to identify and manage these materials. In situations where we cannot reasonably determine when materials containing asbestos might be removed from the sites, we have not recorded an accrual because the fair value of the obligation cannot be reasonably estimated.

PRODUCT REMEDIATION

Refer to Note 16: Charges (Recoveries) for Product Remediation, Net for further information.