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Commitments and Contingencies
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Legal Proceedings and Settlements

The Company and its subsidiaries are parties to various legal actions arising in the normal course of business. Management believes the disposition of these outstanding legal actions, including the legal actions identified below, will not have a material impact on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Mishal and Berger Litigation

On May 25, 2018, plaintiffs Tsemach Mishal and Paul Berger (on behalf of themselves and the purported class, Plaintiffs) initiated a purported class action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the Court) against the following defendants: the Company, Boardwalk GP, LP (Boardwalk GP), Boardwalk GP, LLC and BPHC (together, Defendants), regarding the potential exercise by Boardwalk GP of its right to purchase the issued and outstanding common units of the Company not already owned by Boardwalk GP or its affiliates (Purchase Right).
On June 25, 2018, Plaintiffs and Defendants entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Compromise and Settlement, subject to the approval of the Court (the Proposed Settlement). Under the terms of the Proposed Settlement, the lawsuit would be dismissed, and related claims against the Defendants would be released by the Plaintiffs, if BPHC, the sole member of the general partner of Boardwalk GP, elected to cause Boardwalk GP to exercise its Purchase Right for a cash purchase price, as determined by the Company's Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, as amended (the Limited Partnership Agreement), and gave notice of such election as provided in the Limited Partnership Agreement within a period specified by the Proposed Settlement. On June 29, 2018, Boardwalk GP elected to exercise the Purchase Right and gave notice within the period specified by the Proposed Settlement. On July 18, 2018, Boardwalk GP completed the purchase of the Company's common units pursuant to the Purchase Right.

On September 28, 2018, the Court denied approval of the Proposed Settlement. On February 11, 2019, a substitute verified class action complaint was filed in this proceeding. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was heard by the Court in July 2019. In October 2019, the Court ruled on the motion and granted a partial dismissal, with certain aspects of the case proceeding to trial. On October 14, 2020, after completion of fact discovery, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. In light of the amended complaint, Defendants have moved to vacate the scheduled January 18, 2021 trial date, and have also filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ new claims.

City of New Orleans Litigation

Gulf South Pipeline Company, LLC, along with several other energy companies operating in Southern Louisiana, has been named as a defendant in a petition for damages and injunctive relief in state district court for Orleans Parish, Louisiana, (Case No. 19-3466) by the City of New Orleans. The case was filed on March 29, 2019. The lawsuit claims include, among other things, negligence, strict liability, nuisance and breach of contract, alleging that the defendants’ drilling, dredging, pipeline and industrial operations since the 1930s have caused increased storm surge risk, increased flood protection costs and unspecified damages to the City of New Orleans. In October 2020, this case was stayed pending the outcome of an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in a similar case.
Letter of Credit Proceeds

In the second quarter 2019, a customer of Texas Gas Transmission, LLC (Texas Gas), a subsidiary of the Company, declared bankruptcy and rejected the transportation agreements it had with Texas Gas as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. Subsequent to the bankruptcy declaration, Texas Gas pursued and received proceeds of $27.7 million from existing letters of credit provided to Texas Gas as credit support. In June 2019, the bankruptcy court approved the rejection of the transportation agreements, which relieved Texas Gas from providing further transportation services to its customer. As a result, Texas Gas first applied the proceeds from the letters of credit to outstanding receivables and then recognized as transportation revenues the remaining $26.2 million of proceeds, which represent a portion of the future performance obligations that were eliminated under the transportation agreements.

Commitments for Construction

The Company’s future capital commitments are comprised of binding commitments under purchase orders for materials ordered but not received and firm commitments under binding construction service agreements. The commitments as of September 30, 2020, were approximately $149.9 million, all of which are expected to be settled within the next twelve months.

There were no substantial changes to the Company’s commitments under pipeline capacity agreements disclosed in Note 5 of Part II, Item 8. of the Company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Purchase of Undivided Interest

In September 2019, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase the approximately 8% undivided interest that it did not already own in the Bistineau storage facility in Louisiana for $18.8 million. The FERC approved the purchase in early 2020 and the transaction closed on April 1, 2020. The purchase was recorded in Capital expenditures on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. After this transaction, the Company owns 100% of the Bistineau storage facility.