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CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS
CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS
 
Legal Proceedings
 
The Corporation has been named in a number of lawsuits that allege injury from exposure to asbestos.  To date, the Corporation has not been found liable for or paid any material sum of money in settlement in any case.  The Corporation believes its minimal use of asbestos in its past and current operations and the relatively non-friable condition of asbestos in its products makes it unlikely that it will face material liability in any asbestos litigation, whether individually or in the aggregate.  The Corporation maintains insurance coverage for these potential liabilities and believes adequate coverage exists to cover any unanticipated asbestos liability.
 
The Corporation is party to a number of legal actions and claims, none of which individually or in the aggregate, in the opinion of management, are expected to have a material effect on the Corporation’s results of operations or financial position.
 
Environmental Matters
 
The aggregate environmental liability was $16.8 million at September 30, 2013 and $16.4 million at December 31, 2012.  All environmental reserves exclude any potential recovery from insurance carriers or third-party legal actions.
 
Letters of Credit and Other Financial Arrangements
 
The Corporation enters into standby letters of credit agreements and guarantees with financial institutions and customers primarily relating to guarantees of repayment, future performance on certain contracts to provide products and services, and to secure advance payments from certain international customers. At September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, there were $51.1 million and $51.8 million of stand-by letters of credit outstanding, respectively, and $18.3 million and $6.8 million of bank guarantees outstanding, respectively.   In addition, the Corporation is required to provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission financial assurance demonstrating its ability to cover the cost of decommissioning its Cheswick, Pennsylvania facility upon closure, though the Corporation does not intend to close this facility.  The Corporation has provided this financial assurance in the form of a $52.9 million surety bond.
 
AP1000 Program

The Corporation’s Electro-Mechanical Division is the reactor coolant pump (RCP) supplier for the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants under construction in China and the United States.  The terms of the AP1000 China and United States contracts include liquidated damage penalty provisions for failure to meet contractual delivery dates if the Corporation caused the delay and the delay was not excusable.  On October 10, 2013, the Corporation received a letter from Westinghouse stating entitlements to the maximum amount of liquidated damages allowable under the AP1000 China contract from Westinghouse of approximately $25 million.  The Corporation would be liable for liquidated damages under the contract if certain contractual delivery dates were not met and if the Corporation was deemed responsible for the delay. To date, the Corporation has not met certain contractual delivery dates under its AP 1000 China contract; however there are significant uncertainties as to which parties are responsible for the delays.  The Corporation believes it has adequate legal defenses and we intend to vigorously defend this matter. Given the uncertainties surrounding the responsibility for the delays no accrual has been made for this matter as of September 30, 2013.  The range of possible loss is $0 to $25 million.
 
U.S. Government Defense Budget/Sequestration
 
In August 2011, the Budget Control Act (the Act) announced a reduction in the Department of Defense (DoD) top line budget by approximately $490 billion over 10 years starting in 2013.  The initial and mandatory budget cuts (or sequestration) as outlined in the Act were to be implemented starting on January 2, 2013. However, on January 1, 2013, Congress elected to delay the impact of sequestration until at least March 1, 2013, and these cuts were to be automatically implemented if an agreement had not been reached by March 27, 2013.  On March 26, 2013, President Obama signed into law a continuing budget resolution which provides additional funding and flexibility for U.S. Government agencies to reallocate funds to priority areas in FY2013.  In April 2013, the President released his initial budget proposal for FY2014, which leaves uncertainty as to how the sequester to be imposed on defense spending next year will be determined.  While such reductions to future DoD spending levels are largely undetermined, any reduction in levels of DoD spending, cancellations or delays impacting existing contracts or programs, including through sequestration, could have a material impact on the Corporation’s results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. 

Lease Agreements

On June 3, 2013, the Corporation entered into a build to suit agreement for the construction and lease of a new manufacturing facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The new facility will consist of two buildings totaling approximately 178,975 square feet situated on 12.5 acres, and will serve as a facility for warehousing, heavy manufacturing, research and development, general office, and hazardous material storage for the Electro Mechanical division in the Flow Control segment. Under the terms of the lease agreement, the Corporation is obligated to pay annual fixed rent of $1.9 million every year for the first eight years with rent escalation of 2.5% every year thereafter for a total of fifteen years.

On June 5, 2013, the Corporation entered into a build to suit agreement for the construction and lease of a new facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The new facility will consist of two buildings totaling approximately 112,000 square feet situated on 8.6 acres, and will serve as a general office, assembly, and testing facility for the Nuclear Group division in the Flow Control segment. Under the terms of the lease agreement, the Corporation is obligated to pay initial annual rent of $1.1 million with rent escalation of 2.5% every year thereafter for a total of fifteen years.