Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Commitments

Total rental expense for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 amounted to $2.2 million, $2.0 million and $1.8 million, respectively. Of the $12.8 million future minimum operating lease commitments outstanding at December 31, 2016, $7.5 million relates to a lease for the Company's headquarters which expires in March 2023. The lease commitment is partially offset by a portion of the headquarters that has been sub-leased through March 2023 and includes total future minimum lease proceeds of $0.6 million.

The Company has a financing lease for the McCook Facility which expires in June 2022 and includes future minimum lease payments, related to the building, of $7.5 million.

The Company’s future minimum lease commitments, principally for facilities and equipment, as of December 31, 2016, were as follows:



	(Dollars in thousands)
Year ended December 31,	Operating Leases		Financing Lease		Capital Leases
2017	$	1,896	$	1,255	$	124
2018	1,884		1,348		96
2019	1,852		1,395		39
2020	1,909		1,443		—
2021	1,967		1,493		—
Thereafter	3,248		542		—
Total	$	12,756	$	7,476	$	259

At December 31, 2016, the cost and accumulated depreciation of the asset related to the financing lease were $13.0 million and $5.9 million, respectively, and the cost and accumulated amortization of the assets related to capital leases were $0.5 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

Litigation, regulatory and tax matters

The Company is involved in legal actions that arise in the ordinary course of business. It is the opinion of management that the resolution of any currently pending litigation will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

Environmental matter

In 2012, the Company identified that a site it owns in Decatur, Alabama contains hazardous substances in the soil and groundwater as a result of historical operations prior to the Company's ownership. The Company retained an environmental consulting firm to further investigate the contamination including the measurement and monitoring of the site. In August 2013, the site was enrolled in Alabama's voluntary cleanup program. On October 30, 2014, the Company received estimates from its environmental consulting firm with three potential remediation solutions. The estimates include a range of viable remedial approaches. The first solution included limited excavation and removal of the contaminated soil along with monitoring for a period up to 10 years. The second solution included the first solution plus the installation of a groundwater extraction system. The third scenario included the first and second solutions plus treatment injections to reduce the degradation time. The estimated expenditures over a 10-year period under the three scenarios ranged from $0.3 million to $1.4 million, of which up to $0.3 million may qualify to be capitalized. As the Company had determined that a loss was probable; however, no scenario was more likely than the other at this time, a liability in the amount of $0.3 million was established in 2014.

During 2015, after further evidence had been collected and analyzed, the Company concluded that it was probable that future remediation would be required, and accordingly accrued an additional $0.9 million for the estimated costs. This estimate is based on the information developed to date and as the remediation efforts proceed, additional information may impact the final cost. As of December 31, 2016, agreement with Alabama’s voluntary cleanup program on viable treatment of the property has not yet been reached and the Company continues to evaluate potential remediation alternatives that could impact the ultimate cost of remediation. As of December 31, 2016, approximately $1.1 million is accrued for remediation in other long-term liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.

Tax matter

The Company was subject to an examination by the Canada Revenue Authority ("CRA") for the years 2006 through 2010. The CRA examination was completed during May 2013 and resulted in proposed adjustments which amount to $1.3 million of additional tax for the 2008 and 2009 tax years. The Company did not agree with these adjustments and filed a request with Competent Authority programs in both the U.S. and Canada in October 2013. The Competent Authority program assists taxpayers with respect to matters covered in the mutual agreement procedure provisions of tax treaties. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Competent Authority completed their review and communicated to the Company that they proposed to assess a tax on the 2009 tax year only.

The Company received and accepted a formal letter of disposition from Competent Authority in the second quarter of 2016. Based on the proposed assessment, in 2015 the Company recorded an expense of approximately $0.8 million in Canada and a related benefit of $0.5 million in the U.S.