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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Legal Proceedings In the ordinary course of our business and as a result of the extensive governmental regulation of the solid waste industry, we are subject to various judicial and administrative proceedings involving state and local agencies. In these proceedings, an agency may seek to impose fines or to revoke or deny renewal of an operating permit held by us. From time to time, we may also be subject to actions brought by special interest or other groups, adjacent landowners or residents in connection with the permitting and licensing of landfills and transfer stations, or allegations of environmental damage or violations of the permits and licenses pursuant to which we operate. In addition, we may be named defendants in various claims and suits pending for alleged damages to persons and property, alleged violations of certain laws and alleged liabilities arising out of matters occurring during the ordinary operation of a waste management business. The plaintiffs in some actions seek unspecified damages or injunctive relief, or both. These actions fall within various procedural stages at any point in time, and some are covered in part by insurance. In accordance with FASB ASC 450 - Contingencies, we accrue for legal proceedings, inclusive of legal costs, when losses become probable and reasonably estimable. We have recorded an aggregate accrual of $1,291 relating to our outstanding legal proceedings as of June 30, 2022. As of the end of each applicable reporting period, we review each of our legal proceedings to determine whether it is probable, reasonably possible or remote that a liability has been incurred and, if it is at least reasonably possible, whether a range of loss can be reasonably estimated under the provisions of FASB ASC 450-20. In instances where we determine that a loss is probable and we can reasonably estimate a range of loss we may incur with respect to such a matter, we record an accrual for the amount within the range that constitutes our best estimate of the possible loss. If we are able to reasonably estimate a range, but no amount within the range appears to be a better estimate than any other, we record an accrual in the amount that is the low end of such range. When a loss is reasonably possible, but not probable, we will not record an accrual, but we will disclose our estimate of the possible range of loss where such estimate can be made in accordance with FASB ASC 450-20. We disclose outstanding matters that we believe could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. North Country Environmental Services Expansion Permit On October 9, 2020, our subsidiary, North Country Environmental Services, Inc. ("NCES"), received a Type I-A Permit Modification (the "Permit") for Expansion in the Stage VI area of the NCES landfill located in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. On November 9, 2020, the Conservation Law Foundation ("CLF") filed an appeal of the Permit to the New Hampshire Waste Management Council (the “Council”) on the grounds it failed to meet the public benefit criteria. On January 19, 2021, CLF filed a Complaint for Injunctive Relief with the Grafton Superior Court to enjoin NCES from accepting waste pursuant to the new Permit until such a time as CLF has exhausted its appeal rights. A hearing on the Complaint for Injunctive Relief was held on March 10, 2021; the Grafton Superior Court denied the motion on May 14, 2021. CLF did not appeal this decision. The Council denied NCES’s Motion to Dismiss CLF’s appeal for lack of standing by Order dated March 17, 2021. NCES filed a Motion to Reconsider on March 26, 2021, which was denied by the Council on May 11, 2021. A prehearing conference was held and a schedule for the case was established on June 8, 2021. NCES filed a Motion to Dismiss on the merits of the appeal on June 30, 2021. On July 16, 2021, CLF filed its objection to the Motion to Dismiss, and NCES filed its reply on July 26, 2021. The Council issued an Order on September 3, 2021 granting NCES’s Motion to Dismiss, in part. CLF filed a Motion for Reconsideration on September 23, 2021, and NCES filed its objection on September 28, 2021 and CLF filed a reply on September 30, 2021. CLF’s Motion for Reconsideration was granted on November 19, 2021, and its dismissed claims reinstated. On January 14, 2022, NCES filed a Motion in Limine seeking to exclude from evidence four potential evidentiary items on the basis that those items were either not directly related, or were not included in CLF’s Notice of Appeal. On January 21, 2022, CLF filed an objection to NCES’s motion, and NCES filed a reply on January 26, 2022. On January 31, 2022, the Council issued an Order granting NCES’s Motion in Limine with respect to three of the four items it sought to exclude from evidence, and denying its motion with respect to the remaining item. On February 18 and February 22, 2022, a quorum of the Council and Hearing Officer held a hearing on the appeal. Council deliberations occurred and were concluded on February 22, 2022,with the Council ruling in favor of NCES on all motions concerning questions of fact, and indicating that a written decision incorporating the Hearing Officer’s decision as to questions of law would follow. On May 11, 2022, an Order was issued denying all of CLF’s arguments on appeal, with the exception of one; the Hearing Officer held that based on his interpretation of the relevant statute, the public benefit determination made by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (“DES”), in issuing the Permit to NCES, was unlawful, and remanded the Permit to the DES with regard to this determination. DES filed a Motion for Reconsideration with the Council on May 31, 2022 (the “DES Reconsideration Motion”) and NCES filed a Motion for Rehearing on June 10, 2022 (the “NCES Rehearing Motion”). The Hearing Officer suspended his May 11, 2022 decision by Order dated June 20, 2022, pending consideration of the DES Reconsideration Motion and NCES Rehearing Motion. On June 24, 2022, CLF filed an Objection and Motion to Strike with respect to the NCES Rehearing Motion as well as an Objection to the DES Reconsideration Motion, and DES filed a Limited Objection to the NCES Rehearing Motion, each to which NCES submitted a Reply on July 6, 2022. On July 18, 2022, CLF filed a Reply in Support of its Motion to Strike and Limited Surreply in Support of Objection to the NCES Motion for Rehearing. On July 21, 2022, NCES filed an Assented to Motion for Leave to File Limited Surreply to CLF’s Motion to Strike together with a Limited Surreply to CLF’s Motion to Strike. The outcome remains pending. NCES will continue to vigorously defend against this litigation. Environmental Remediation Liabilities We are subject to liability for environmental damage, including personal injury and property damage, that our solid waste, recycling and power generation facilities may cause to neighboring property owners, particularly as a result of the contamination of drinking water sources or soil, possibly including damage resulting from conditions that existed before we acquired the facilities. We may also be subject to liability for similar claims arising from off-site environmental contamination caused by pollutants or hazardous substances if we or our predecessors arrange or arranged to transport, treat or dispose of those materials. We accrue for costs associated with environmental remediation obligations when such costs become both probable and reasonably estimable. Determining the method and ultimate cost of remediation requires that a number of assumptions be made. 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. In the early stages of the remediation process, particular components of the overall liability may not be reasonably estimable; in this instance we use the components of the liability that can be reasonably estimated as a surrogate for the liability. 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. 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 and cash flows. We disclose outstanding environmental remediation matters that remain unsettled or are settled in the reporting period that we believe could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We inflate the estimated costs in current dollars to the expected time of payment and discount the total cost to present value using a risk-free interest rate. The weighted average risk-free interest rate associated with our environmental remediation liabilities as of June 30, 2022 ranges between 1.5% and 2.6%. A summary of the changes to the aggregate environmental remediation liabilities for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 follows:
| Six Months Ended June 30,
| 2022 |  | 2021
Beginning balance | $ | 5,887 |  |  | $ | 5,200 |
Accretion expense | 54 |  |  | 56 |
Obligations settled (1) | (72) |  |  | (281) |
Ending balance | 5,869 |  |  | 4,975 |
Less: current portion | 280 |  |  | 375 |
Long-term portion | $ | 5,589 |  |  | $ | 4,600 |
(1)May include amounts paid and amounts that are being processed through accounts payable as a part of our disbursement cycle.

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