Kimberly-Clark 2010 Annual Report Download - page 76

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KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)
Consolidated rental expense under operating leases was $296 million, $284 million and $316 million in
2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Purchase Commitments
We have entered into long-term contracts for the purchase of pulp and utilities, principally electricity.
Commitments under these contracts based on current prices are $616 million in 2011, $320 million in 2012,
$90 million in 2013, $68 million in 2014 and $44 million in 2015. Total commitments beyond the year 2015 are
$65 million.
Although we are primarily liable for payments on the above-mentioned leases and purchase commitments,
our exposure to losses, if any, under these arrangements is not material.
Note 16. Legal Matters
We are subject to various lawsuits and claims pertaining to issues such as contract disputes, product
liability, patents and trademarks, advertising, employee and other matters. Although the results of litigation and
claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the ultimate disposition of these matters, to the extent
not previously provided for, will not have a material adverse effect, individually or in the aggregate, on our
business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Litigation
The following is a brief description of certain legal and administrative proceedings to which we are a party
or to which our properties are subject. None of the legal and administrative proceedings described below,
individually or in the aggregate, is expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition,
results of operations or liquidity.
Environmental Matters
We have been named as a potentially responsible party under the provisions of the federal Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or analogous state statutes, at a number of waste
disposal sites, none of which, individually or in the aggregate, is likely to have a material adverse effect on our
business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
In 2007, the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Authority (“Delcora”) initiated actions alleging that
we underreported the quantity of effluent discharged to Delcora from our Chester Mill for several years due to an
inaccurate effluent flow metering device and that, as a result, we owed Delcora $19.5 million. Delcora is a public
agency that operates a sewerage system that serves our Chester Mill, as well as other industrial and municipal
customers. Delcora also regulates the discharge of wastewater from the Chester Mill. We denied that we violated
any environmental requirements and disputed Delcora’s calculation of amounts owed for past wastewater
treatment services. In January 2011, the parties conducted a mediation that yielded a settlement agreement in
which we will pay Delcora $250,000 as a monetary sanction and $3.75 million to settle the dispute over historic
charges for wastewater treatment services. As a result of this settlement, the actions initiated by Delcora in 2007
will be dismissed with prejudice and other pending disputes between the parties were resolved.
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