CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Jan. 01, 2022

CONTINGENCIES

CONTINGENCIES

15. CONTINGENCIES

The Company is party to various legal proceedings from time to time related to its normal business operations.  Currently, the Company is not involved in any legal proceedings.

In 2016, the Company created a plan to remediate a landfill of spent foundry sand maintained at the Company’s previously owned metal casting facility in New York. This plan was agreed to by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the “NYSDEC”) on March 27, 2018. Based on estimates provided by the Company’s environmental engineers, the anticipated cost to remediate and monitor the landfill was $430,000. The Company accrued for and expensed the entire $430,000 in the first quarter of 2018 and fiscal 2017. In the fall of 2018, detailed construction drawings were prepared by an outside consultant in conjunction with informal progress reviews by the NYSDEC. Long-term groundwater monitoring commenced in April 2019.  Verbal approval for the closure plan was received from the NYSDEC in May 2019. Construction of the closure remedies, including improved drainage system, regrading, and installation of a low permeability cap was completed in October 2021. A closure report and long-term maintenance plan were submitted to the NYSDEC in November 2021. The 30-year annual groundwater monitoring and site maintenance program are underway and will continue through 2048.