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CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
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12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2012
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| CONTINGENT LIABILITIES |
8. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES The Company is subject to various routine legal proceedings in the normal conduct of its business, primarily involving commercial claims, workers’ compensation claims, and claims for personal injury under general maritime laws of the United States and the Jones Act. While the outcome of these lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes that the outcome of any such proceedings, even if determined adversely, would not have a material adverse effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company. In December 2004, we received notice from Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) that a Corrective Action Plan submitted in October 2004 was not acceptable. The Corrective Action Plan was developed to provide remediation to several isolated areas located on property we sold in 2001. In mid 2005, the LDEQ approved a sampling plan with the proposed sampling to begin in September of 2005. Due to the hurricanes that struck the Louisiana coast in 2005, the scheduled sampling was cancelled. In October 2006, the sampling was completed. This sampling plan was rejected by the LDEQ in April 2008. We submitted a revised sampling plan to the LDEQ in September 2008 and it was later approved with stipulations. After sampling, we filed a report with the LDEQ in mid July 2010. After its review, the agency requested an overall remediation plan. Through a third party, we completed our plan in February 2012. The LDEQ approved our plan in December 2012 with stipulations. We accrued an additional $105,000 in 2012 due to these plan adjustments. We performed the work pursuant to the site plan in January and February of 2013 and await the LDEQ’s approval of the results. We have $400,000 accrued at December 31, 2012 related to the estimated cost to remediate the site, which includes professional fees such as engineering and consulting costs. |