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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

NOTE 10: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

In October 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) named JT Ryerson as one of more than 100 businesses that may be a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (the “PHS Site”). On January 6, 2017, the EPA issued an initial Record of Decision (“ROD”) regarding the site. The ROD includes a combination of dredging, capping, and enhanced natural recovery that would take approximately thirteen years to construct plus additional time for monitored natural recovery, at an estimated present value cost of $1.05 billion. At a December 4, 2018 meeting with the Portland Harbor

Participation and Common Interest Group (“PCI Group”), of which JT Ryerson is a member, the EPA indicated that it expected PRPs to submit a plan during 2019 to start remediation of the river and harbor per the ROD within the next two to three years.

The EPA met with various PRPs throughout 2019 and 2020 regarding remedial design. The EPA did not include JT Ryerson in those meetings. It did include Schnitzer Steel, which is developing a remedial design plan for the river area which includes the area where the former JT Ryerson facilities were located. Schnitzer Steel’s 2020 disclosures filed with the EPA acknowledged that Schnitzer Steel is the legal successor to the prior operators (including JT Ryerson) in the designated area. On February 12, 2021, the EPA announced that one hundred percent (100%) of the PHS Site is now in the active remedial design phase.

In June 2021, the EPA issued a Fact Sheet setting forth the status of the entire site. The primary area of relevance for JT Ryerson is River Mile 3.5 East, with Swan Island Basin being of secondary interest. For River Mile 3.5, remedial design work is ongoing; the Sufficiency Assessment and the Pre-Design Investigation work plans are finalized, and design investigation sampling is underway. Schnitzer Steel and MMGL Corp. are the working parties for River Mile 3.5. For Swan Island, remedial design is just beginning, with Daimler Trucks, Shipyard Commerce, and various government entities as the working parties. JT Ryerson has not been asked to participate in the remedial design phase.

The PCI Group has engaged a third party to prepare cost estimates for each of the Sediment Management Areas at the site. That work is still in progress and is expected to be completed in 2022. In the meantime, the voting parties of the PCI Group (which does not include JT Ryerson) have begun the “advocacy process,” during which the voting parties submit written arguments to the Allocation Team regarding how costs should be allocated among the various PRPs. This process is anticipated to be completed sometime in 2022 or early 2023. Once the advocacy process is completed, the Allocation Team will prepare a proposed allocation of costs among the PRPs. All PRPs, including JT Ryerson, will then participate in the “mediation process,” during which the PRPs will attempt to agree on a final cost allocation. The mediation process is currently anticipated to occur sometime in late 2022 or 2023.

The EPA has stated that it is willing to consider de minimis settlements, which JT Ryerson is trying to pursue; however, the EPA has not begun meeting with any of the smaller parties who have requested de minimis or de micromis status, stating that it does not have sufficient information to determine whether any parties meet such criteria and does not intend to begin those considerations until after the remedial design work is completed. It has met with selected parties that we believe to be larger targets. JT Ryerson has not been invited to meet with the EPA. As a result of the ongoing negotiations and filings over the ROD and the EPA’s decision not to meet with smaller parties, we cannot determine how allocations will be made and whether a de minimus settlement can be reached with the EPA.

As the EPA has not yet allocated responsibility for the contamination among the potentially responsible parties, including JT Ryerson, we do not currently have sufficient information available to us to determine whether the ROD will be executed as currently stated, whether and to what extent JT Ryerson may be held responsible for any of the identified contamination, and how much (if any) of the final plan’s costs might ultimately be allocated to JT Ryerson. Therefore, management cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this matter or estimate a range of potential loss at this time.

There are various other claims and pending actions against the Company. The amount of liability, if any, for those claims and actions as of June 30, 2022, is not determinable but, in the opinion of management, such liability, if any, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. We maintain liability insurance coverage to assist in protecting our assets from losses arising from or related to activities associated with business operations.