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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies.
Environmental Matters
Due to the nature of our business, certain of our subsidiaries' operations are subject to numerous existing and proposed laws and governmental regulations designed to protect the environment, particularly regarding plant wastes and emissions and solid waste disposal. Our consolidated environmental liabilities were $38 million and $34 million as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, primarily within our Energy and Metals segments and which are included in accrued expenses and other liabilities in our condensed consolidated balance sheets. In addition to the above, Federal-Mogul has environmental liabilities of $16 million and $16 million as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, which are included in liabilities held for sale in our condensed consolidated balance sheets. We do not believe that environmental matters will have a material adverse impact on our consolidated results of operations and financial condition.
On August 21, 2018, CVR Refining received a letter from the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (“KDHE”) alleging violations of the Clean Air Act and a 2012 Consent Decree between CVR Refining, the United States (on behalf of the EPA) and KDHE at CVR Energy's Coffeyville refinery. In September 2018, CVR Refining executed a tolling agreement with the DOJ and KDHE extending time for negotiation regarding the agencies’ allegations through March 31, 2019. At this time CVR Energy cannot reasonably estimate the potential penalties, costs, fines or other expenditures that may result from this matter or any subsequent enforcement or litigation relating thereto and, therefore, CVR Energy cannot determine if the ultimate outcome of this matter will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
There have been no other new developments or material changes to the environmental accruals or expected capital expenditures related to compliance with the environmental matters from those disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Renewable Fuel Standards
CVR Refining is subject to the Renewable Fuel Standard ("RFS") of the EPA which requires refiners to either blend "renewable fuels" in with their transportation fuels or purchase renewable fuel credits, known as renewable identification numbers (“RINs”), in lieu of blending. Due to mandates in the RFS requiring increasing volumes of renewable fuels to replace petroleum products in the U.S. transportation fuel market, there may be a decrease in demand for petroleum products. CVR Refining is not able to blend the substantial majority of its transportation fuels and has to purchase RINs on the open market, as well as waiver credits for cellulosic biofuels from the EPA, in order to comply with the RFS.
The net cost of RINs for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 was $20 million and $64 million, respectively, and $47 million and $164 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, which is included in cost of goods sold in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. RINs expense includes the purchased cost of RINs, the impact of recognizing CVR Refining's uncommitted biofuel blending obligation at fair value based on market prices at each reporting date and is reduced by the valuation change of RINs purchases in excess of CVR Refining's RFS obligation as of the reporting date. As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, CVR Refining's biofuel blending obligation was $7 million and $28 million, respectively, which is included in accrued expenses and other liabilities in our condensed consolidated balance sheets and is reduced by the valuation change of RINs purchases in excess of CVR Refining’s RFS obligation as of the reporting date. As of September 30, 2018, our Energy segment recorded a RINs asset within other assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheet of $4 million, representing excess RINs primarily due to a reduction in its RFS obligation during the first quarter of 2018.
Litigation
From time to time, we and our subsidiaries are involved in various lawsuits arising in the normal course of business. We do not believe that such normal routine litigation will have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Federal-Mogul
On March 3, 2017, certain purported former stockholders of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation filed a petition in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking an appraisal of the value of common stock they claim to have held at the time of the January 23, 2017 merger of IEH FM Holdings, LLC into Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation. IEH FM Holdings, LLC was a wholly owned subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises. Federal-Mogul Holdings LLC filed an answer to the petition on March 28, 2017. A second petition for appraisal was filed by purported former stockholders of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation on May 1, 2017. The two cases were consolidated on May 10, 2017, captioned In re Appraisal of Federal-Mogul Holdings LLC, C.A. No. 2017-0158-AGB. A trial date has not yet been set. As of September 30, 2018, the litigation reserve was $56 million, including accrued interest of $6 million. In connection with this matter, we contributed $56 million to Federal-Mogul prior to our sale of Federal-Mogul.
On April 25, 2014, a group of plaintiffs brought an action against Federal-Mogul Products, Inc. ("FM Products"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Federal-Mogul, alleging injuries and damages associated with the discharge of chlorinated hydrocarbons by the former owner of a facility located in Kentucky. Since 1998, when FM Products acquired the facility, it has been cooperating with the applicable regulatory agencies on remediating the prior discharges pursuant to an order entered into by the facility’s former owner. FM Products negotiated a settlement agreement with plaintiff's counsel which was approved by the required number of plaintiffs and, following a fairness hearing, given final approval by the court on July 13, 2018. FM Products paid $3 million pursuant to the settlement agreement during the three months ended September 30, 2018.
Other Matters
FRA Directive
On September 30, 2016, the Federal Railroad Administration (the "FRA") issued Railworthiness Directive ("RWD") No. 2016-01 (the "Original Directive"). The Original Directive addressed, among other things, certain welding practices in one weld area in specified DOT 111 tank railcars manufactured between 2009 and 2015 by ARI and ACF. Our Railcar segment met and corresponded with the FRA following the issuance of the Original Directive to express its concerns with the Original Directive and its impact on our Railcar segment, as well as the industry as a whole. On November 18, 2016 (the "Issuance Date"), the FRA issued RWD No. 2016-01 [Revised] (the "Revised Directive"). The Revised Directive changed and superseded the Original Directive in several ways.
The Revised Directive required owners to identify their subject tank railcars and then from that population identify the 15% of subject tank railcars then in hazardous materials service with the highest mileage in each tank car owner’s fleet. Visual inspection of each of the subject tank railcars is required by the car operator prior to putting any railcar into service. Owners must ensure appropriate inspection, testing and repairs, if needed, within twelve months of the Issuance Date for the 15% of their subject tank railcars identified to be in hazardous materials service with the highest mileage. The FRA reserved the right to impose additional test and inspection requirements for the remaining tank railcars subject to the Revised Directive. The FRA also reserved the right to seek civil penalties or to take any other appropriate enforcement action for violation of the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations that have occurred.
Although the Revised Directive addressed some of our Railcar segment's concerns and clarified certain requirements of the Original Directive, our Railcar segment identified significant issues with the Revised Directive. As a result, in December 2016, our Railcar segment sought judicial review of and relief from the Revised Directive by filing a petition for review against the FRA in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
On August 17, 2017, our Railcar segment entered into a settlement agreement with the FRA, which covered the subject railcars owned by our Railcar segment. This agreement, among other things, extended the deadline for our Railcar segment to complete the inspection, testing and repairs, if needed, for the 15% identified railcars to December 31, 2017. Adding clarity regarding certain unknown requirements referenced in the Revised Directive, under the settlement agreement, our Railcar segment is required to inspect, test, and if necessary repair the remaining 85% subject tank railcars at the next tank railcar qualification, scheduled routine or regular maintenance, shopping or repair event, but no later than December 31, 2025. However, the settlement agreement permits our Railcar segment to: (i) if the FRA does not impose a similar requirement by July 31, 2018 on other owners’ railcars subject to the Revised Directive, suspend compliance with this requirement until such time as the FRA imposes requirements on all 85% railcars subject to the Revised Directive, and (ii) elect to be governed by any different requirements later imposed by the FRA on other owners’ railcars subject to the Revised Directive. In addition, the settlement agreement also provides that railcars owned by our Railcar segment are no longer required to have a surface inspection performed when the railcars are being inspected pursuant to the Revised Directive. The description above includes a summary of the terms of the settlement agreement. Finally, as part of the settlement agreement, our Railcar segment dismissed its lawsuit against the FRA.
Our Railcar segment has evaluated its potential exposure related to the Revised Directive and has a loss contingency reserve remaining of $9 million, as of September 30, 2018, to cover its probable and estimable liabilities with respect to our Railcar segment's response to the Revised Directive. The loss contingency reserve takes into account information available as of September 30, 2018 and our Railcar segment's contractual obligations in its capacity as both a manufacturer and owner of railcars subject to the Revised Directive. This amount is included in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. This amount will continue to be evaluated as our Railcar segment's and its customers' compliance with the Revised Directive and the settlement agreement progress. Actual results could differ from this estimate.
Pension Obligations
Mr. Icahn, through certain affiliates, owns 100% of Icahn Enterprises GP and approximately 91.5% of Icahn Enterprises' outstanding depositary units as of September 30, 2018. Applicable pension and tax laws make each member of a “controlled group” of entities, generally defined as entities in which there is at least an 80% common ownership interest, jointly and severally liable for certain pension plan obligations of any member of the controlled group. These pension obligations include ongoing contributions to fund the plan, as well as liability for any unfunded liabilities that may exist at the time the plan is terminated. In addition, the failure to pay these pension obligations when due may result in the creation of liens in favor of the pension plan or the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the "PBGC") against the assets of each member of the controlled group.
As a result of the more than 80% ownership interest in us by Mr. Icahn’s affiliates and our ownership of more than 80% in certain of our subsidiaries, we and certain of our subsidiaries are subject to the pension liabilities of entities in which Mr. Icahn has a direct or indirect ownership interest of at least 80%. ACF and Federal-Mogul, are the sponsors of several pension plans. All the minimum funding requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, for these plans have been met as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017. If the plans were voluntarily terminated, they would be underfunded by approximately $371 million ($77 million for ACF and $294 million for Federal-Mogul) and $424 million as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. These results are based on the most recent information provided by the plans’ actuaries. These liabilities could increase or decrease, depending on a number of factors, including future changes in benefits, investment returns, and the assumptions used to calculate the liability. As members of the controlled group, we would be liable for any failure of ACF and Federal-Mogul to make ongoing pension contributions or to pay the unfunded liabilities upon a termination of the pension plans of ACF and Federal-Mogul. In addition, other entities now or in the future within the controlled group in which we are included may have pension plan obligations that are, or may become, underfunded and we would be liable for any failure of such entities to make ongoing pension contributions or to pay the unfunded liabilities upon termination of such plans.
The current underfunded status of the pension plans of ACF and Federal-Mogul requires them to notify the PBGC of certain “reportable events,” such as if they cease to be a member of the ACF and Federal-Mogul controlled group, or if they make certain extraordinary dividends or stock redemptions. As of October 1, 2018, Federal-Mogul is no longer a member of the controlled group.
Starfire Holding Corporation ("Starfire") which is 99.4% owned by Mr. Icahn, has undertaken to indemnify us and our subsidiaries from losses resulting from any imposition of certain pension funding or termination liabilities that may be imposed on us and our subsidiaries or our assets as a result of being a member of the Icahn controlled group. The Starfire indemnity (which does not extend to pension liabilities of our subsidiaries that would be imposed on us as a result of our interest in these subsidiaries and not as a result of Mr. Icahn and his affiliates holding more than an 80% ownership interest in us, and as such would not extend to the unfunded pension termination liability for Federal-Mogul) provides, among other things, that so long as such contingent liabilities exist and could be imposed on us, Starfire will not make any distributions to its stockholders that would reduce its net worth to below $250 million. Nonetheless, Starfire may not be able to fund its indemnification obligations to us.
Other
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York contacted Icahn Enterprises L.P. in September 2017 seeking production of information pertaining to our and Mr. Icahn’s activities relating to the Renewable Fuels Standard and Mr. Icahn’s former role as an advisor to the President. We are cooperating with the request and provided information in response to the subpoena. The U.S. Attorney’s office has not made any claims or allegations against us or Mr. Icahn. We maintain a strong compliance program and, while no assurances can be made, we do not believe this inquiry will have a material impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.