Landfill and Environmental Costs

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Landfill and Environmental Costs [Abstract]

8. LANDFILL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS

As of December 31, 2011, we owned or operated 191 active solid waste landfills with total available disposal capacity of approximately 4.8 billion in-place cubic yards. Additionally, we currently have post-closure responsibility for 130 closed landfills.

Accrued Landfill and Environmental Costs

A summary of our landfill and environmental liabilities as of December 31 is as follows:


	2011			2010
Landfill final capping, closure and post-closure liabilities	$	1,037.0		$	1,046.5
Remediation		543.7			552.1

		1,580.7			1,598.6
Less: Current portion		(184.2	)		(182.0	)

Long-term portion	$	1,396.5		$	1,416.6

Final Capping, Closure and Post-Closure Costs

The following table summarizes the activity in our asset retirement obligation liabilities, which include liabilities for final capping, closure and post-closure, for the years ended December 31:


	2011			2010			2009
Asset retirement obligation liabilities, beginning of year	$	1,046.5		$	1,074.5		$	1,040.6
Non-cash additions		33.9			31.4			32.5
Acquisitions and other adjustments		15.8			(3.0	)		72.3
Asset retirement obligation adjustments		(31.5	)		(27.9	)		(57.4	)
Payments		(105.7	)		(111.3	)		(100.9	)
Accretion expense		78.0			80.5			88.8
Adjustments to liabilities related to assets held for sale		-			2.3			(1.4	)

Asset retirement obligation liabilities, end of period		1,037.0			1,046.5			1,074.5
Less: Current portion		(85.2	)		(93.9	)		(137.5	)

Long-term portion	$	951.8		$	952.6		$	937.0

The initial liabilities recorded as part of the Allied acquisition were developed using provisional amounts based upon information available at that time. During 2009, we gathered and assessed new information about the facts and circumstances surrounding our sites, and, as a result, increased the fair value of our closure and post-closure reserves by $72.3 million. The amounts we have recorded for these obligations are not comparable to the amounts Allied recorded. As part of the initial application of purchase accounting, we have recorded these obligations at their estimated fair values, inflated them to the expected payment date and then discounted the obligations using our credit-adjusted, risk-free rate at the time of the acquisition of 9.75%. Any further adjustments to our final capping, closure and post-closure liabilities will be reflected prospectively in our consolidated statement of income in the periods in which such adjustments become known.

We review our landfill asset retirement obligations annually. As a result, we recorded a net decrease in amortization expense of $9.6 million, $10.2 million, and $5.1 million for 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, primarily related to changes in estimates and assumptions concerning the anticipated waste flow, cost and timing of future final capping, closure and post-closure activities.

The fair value of assets that are legally restricted for purposes of settling final capping, closure and post-closure obligations was approximately $54.9 million at December 31, 2011 and is included in restricted cash and marketable securities in our consolidated balance sheet.

The expected future payments for final capping, closure and post-closure as of December 31, 2011 are as follows:


2012	$	85.2
2013		111.0
2014		97.0
2015		98.7
2016		94.3
Thereafter		4,628.9

	$	5,115.1

The estimated remaining final capping, closure and post-closure expenditures presented above are not inflated and not discounted and reflect the estimated future payments for liabilities incurred and recorded as of December 31, 2011.

Environmental Remediation Liabilities

We accrue for remediation costs when they become probable and can be reasonably estimated. There can sometimes be a range of reasonable estimates of the costs associated with remediation of a site. In these cases, we use the amount within the range that constitutes our best estimate. If no amount within the range appears to be a better estimate than any other, we use the amount that is at the low end of such range. It is reasonably possible that we will need to adjust the liabilities recorded for remediation to reflect the effects of new or additional information, to the extent such information impacts the costs, timing or duration of the required actions. If we used the reasonably possible high ends of our ranges, our aggregate potential remediation liability at December 31, 2011 would be approximately $197 million higher than the amounts recorded. Future changes in our estimates of the cost, timing or duration of the required actions could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The following table summarizes the activity in our environmental remediation liabilities for the years ended December 31:


	2011			2010			2009
Remediation liabilities, beginning of year	$	552.1		$	554.1		$	389.9
Acquisitions and other adjustments		-			1.5			181.9
Additions charged to expense		3.6			17.9			4.9
Payments		(45.0	)		(50.5	)		(56.2	)
Accretion expense (non-cash interest expense)		33.0			29.1			33.6

Remediation liabilities, end of period		543.7			552.1			554.1
Less: Current portion		(99.0	)		(88.1	)		(107.9	)

Long-term portion	$	444.7		$	464.0		$	446.2

The initial liabilities recorded as part of the Allied acquisition were recorded using provisional amounts based upon information available at that time. During 2009, we gathered and assessed new information obtained about the facts and circumstances surrounding Allied’s remediation sites. As a result of that process, we increased the fair value of our remediation reserves assumed from Allied by $181.9 million. Any further adjustments to our remediation reserves resulting in changes in estimate or reserve settlements will be reflected currently in earnings in the periods in which such adjustments become known.

The expected undiscounted future payments for remediation costs as of December 31, 2011 are as follows:


2012	$	99.0
2013		64.3
2014		45.7
2015		37.7
2016		32.6
Thereafter		458.7

	$	738.0

The following is a discussion of certain of our significant remediation matters:

Countywide Landfill. In September 2009, Republic Services of Ohio II, LLC entered into Final Findings and Orders with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that require us to implement a comprehensive operation and maintenance program to manage the remediation area at the Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility (Countywide). The remediation liability for Countywide recorded as of December 31, 2011 is $56.8 million, of which $5.0 million is expected to be paid during 2012. We believe the reasonably possible range of loss for remediation costs is $53 million to $74 million.

Congress Landfill. In August 2010, Congress Development Company agreed with the State of Illinois to have a Final Consent Order (Final Order) entered by the Circuit Court of Illinois, Cook County. Pursuant to the Final Order, we have agreed to continue to implement certain remedial activities at the Congress Landfill. The remediation liability recorded as of December 31, 2011 is $83.6 million, of which $7.4 million is expected to be paid during 2012. We believe the reasonably possible range of loss for remediation costs is $53 million to $154 million.

It is reasonably possible that we will need to adjust the liabilities noted above to reflect the effects of new or additional information, to the extent that such information impacts the costs, timing or duration of the required actions. Future changes in our estimates of the costs, timing or duration of the required actions could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for environmental loss contingencies, such as presence of hazardous waste, relevant information from reports issued by regulators, and estimated costs to achieve compliance with regulatory requirements. This element may be used for all of an entity's disclosures about environmental loss contingencies.

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