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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

NOTE 13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

At any given time, we are subject to claims and actions incidental to the operations of our business. Based on information currently available, we do not expect that any sums we may have to pay in connection with any legal proceeding would have a materially adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, operating results or net cash flow.

ENVIRONMENTAL MATTER

Pursuant to the 2002 Asset Purchase Agreement under which Sappi Cloquet LLC (Sappi) purchased our Cloquet, Minnesota pulp and paper mill (the Plant), we agreed to indemnify Sappi from certain environmental liabilities accruing from the pre-sale operations of the Plant. In February 2021, we were notified by Sappi that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contacted Sappi about the opportunity to participate with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the EPA in a voluntary federal sediment remediation program under the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) for a project in the St. Louis River Area of Concern, which runs from Cloquet, Minnesota to Lake Superior. The EPA’s invitation to Sappi made no demands on or claims against Sappi, nor have EPA or MPCA made any demands or claims against PotlatchDeltic.

After multiple discussions with the MPCA and completion of our extensive due diligence on this matter, we informed the MPCA in January 2023 that we were interested in voluntarily participating in the remediation project at Thomson Reservoir (Project), and as a result, accrued $5.6 million at December 31, 2022 for our estimated contribution to the Project.

In October 2023 we executed a Project agreement with the EPA and the MPCA and made a $3.4 million payment in November 2023 for our initial share of the Project costs. Our share of the total Project costs is estimated to be between $5.3 million and $5.9 million. At March 31, 2024, we have $2.2 million accrued for our estimated remaining contribution to the Project, all of which is included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. While it is reasonably possible that costs may change as the Project work progresses, we are unable to estimate at this time the amount of change, if any, which may be required for our share of this matter in the future.