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Environmental Liabilities
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 28, 2025
Environmental Remediation Obligations [Abstract]  
Environmental Liabilities
9. Environmental Liabilities
The Company’s environmental liabilities balance changed as follows during the six months ended June 28, 2025:
Balance at December 31, 2024
$170,215 
Increase in liabilities14,404 
Payments(3,161)
Foreign currency adjustments423 
Balance at June 28, 2025
$181,881 
Current environmental liabilities$9,764 
Non-current environmental liabilities$172,117 
Port Angeles, Washington
The Company operated a pulp mill at this site from 1930 until 1997. Since 2000, the Company has been evaluating remediation of the pulp mill site and adjacent marine areas (a portion of Port Angeles harbor) pursuant to an agreed order with the Washington DOE under the Washington MTCA. During this period, the Company has performed several voluntary interim soil cleanup actions. As the next step in collaboration with the Washington DOE, the parties are negotiating a consent order that will formalize approved remedial actions, which include more stringent cleanup standards and an expanded scope. Consequently, in the first quarter of 2025, the Company increased its estimated remediation liability and recorded an expense of $10 million. The associated cash expenditures are not expected to commence before 2028, with outflows anticipated over the subsequent three to five years.
Augusta, Georgia
The Company operated this site as a wood treatment plant from 1928 to 1988. This site operates under a 10-year RCRA hazardous waste facility permit managed by the Georgia EPD. The most recent permit was issued in 2015, and it must be renewed. In connection with the Company’s submittal of its permit renewal application, Georgia EPD notified the Company that a revised corrective action plan for the site would be required to capture results of a decade long extended investigation performed pursuant to the current permit. The revised corrective action plan is being drafted. It expands the remedial areas for the site and includes an additional off-site area, which were both identified through the investigative studies. To reflect the additional remedial activities in these expanded areas, in the first quarter of 2025, the Company increased the estimated remediation liability and recorded an expense of $2 million. The cash impact associated with this charge is expected in early 2027.
Other
In addition to the estimated liabilities for the above remediation sites, the Company is subject to the risk of reasonably possible additional liabilities in excess of the established liabilities due to potential changes in circumstances and future events, including, without limitation, changes to current laws and regulations; changes in governmental agency personnel, direction, philosophy or enforcement policies; developments in remediation technologies; increases in the cost of remediation, operation, maintenance and monitoring of its environmental liability sites; changes in the volume, nature or extent of contamination to be remediated or monitoring to be undertaken; the outcome of negotiations with governmental agencies or non-governmental parties; and changes in accounting rules or interpretations. Based on information available as of June 28, 2025, the Company estimates this exposure could range up to approximately $77 million. However, no assurances can be given that this amount will not be exceeded given the factors described above. These potential additional costs are attributable to several sites and other applicable liabilities. This estimate excludes liabilities that would otherwise be considered reasonably possible but for the fact that they are not currently estimable, primarily due to the factors discussed above.
Subject to the previous paragraph, the Company believes its estimates of liabilities are sufficient for probable costs expected to be incurred over the next 20 years with respect to its environmental liabilities. However, no assurance is given that these estimates will be sufficient for the reasons described above and additional liabilities could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows.