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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
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 $6,275 relating to our outstanding legal proceedings as of December 31, 2023. 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. See Note 18, Other Items and Charges for disclosure regarding a legal settlement charge recorded in fiscal year 2023.
Legal Proceedings
North Country Environmental Services Expansion Permit
The permit for expansion of the Bethlehem, New Hampshire landfill of our subsidiary, North Country Environmental Services, Inc. (“NCES”), known as “Stage VI”, issued in October 2020 (“Permit”), was appealed by the Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) to the New Hampshire Waste Management Council (“Council”) on November 9, 2020 on the grounds it failed to meet the public benefit criteria. Following a hearing on the merits during which the Council found that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (“DES”) had reasonably measured and acted lawfully in determining a capacity need for Stage VI, the hearing officer presiding over the proceedings issued an Order on May 11, 2022, without further hearing, determining instead that DES had acted unlawfully in reaching these conclusions (“Hearing Officer’s Order”), and remanded the Permit to DES on this determination. On December 5, 2022, DES and NCES both separately sought review of the Hearing Officer’s Order on appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”). The parties presented oral arguments to the Supreme Court on October 3, 2023. On December 28, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision reversing the Hearing Officer's Order and held that the Stage VI Permit was lawfully issued by DES, fully resolving this matter and upholding the Stage VI Permit.
On December 14, 2022, NCES filed an action in Merrimack Superior Court (“Superior Court”) seeking to invalidate the Hearing Officer’s Order as having been adopted in violation of New Hampshire’s statute governing access to public records and meetings in that the Council did not hold a public meeting to deliberate on the Hearing Officer’s Order. The Superior Court
dismissed that proceeding by Order dated April 6, 2023, and NCES appealed that decision to the Supreme Court on April 18, 2023. NCES’s brief on appeal was filed with the Supreme Court on August 11, 2023. On September 26, 2023, CLF filed a Motion to Intervene as well as a memorandum of law asking the Supreme Court to uphold the Superior Court’s dismissal, to which NCES filed an Objection in response on October 23, 2023. The Council filed its brief on October 25, 2023. On November 9, 2023, the Supreme Court issued an Order denying CLF’s Motion to Intervene but treating CLF’s memorandum of law as an amicus brief. NCES filed a reply brief on November 14, 2023. On January 18, 2024, the Supreme Court issued an Order setting a deadline of February 2, 2024 for the parties to submit memoranda addressing the mootness of this appeal in light of the Supreme Court’s December 28, 2023 Order reversing the Hearing Officer’s Order and upholding the Stage VI Permit. NCES subsequently filed a Motion for Vacatur of the Superior Court’s April 6, 2023 Order and a Memorandum in Response to the Supreme Court's February 2, 2024 Order on January 23, 2024. A ruling on the Supreme Court's question of mootness and NCES's Motion for Vacatur remains pending.
On September 20, 2022, NCES, which has since withdrawn as a party, and our subsidiary, Granite State Landfill, LLC ("GSL"), filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment ("Petition") in the Superior Court asking the Superior Court for a determination of the meaning and constitutionality of New Hampshire’s public benefit requirement, the same statute at issue in the Hearing Officer’s Order. CLF was granted intervention in the Petition proceeding on June 8, 2023. On December 19, 2023, GSL filed a Motion To Stay pending the outcome of the Supreme Court’s consideration of the Stage VI Permit appeal. The Stage VI Permit appeal was decided and upheld by Order of December 28, 2023 as discussed above. As NCES prevailed in the Stage VI Permit appeal, GSL and NCES voluntarily non-suited the Petition on January 2, 2024, resolving this matter.
On April 12, 2023, DES issued approval of construction plans for Stage VI, Phase II to NCES (“DES Approval”). CLF appealed the DES Approval to the Council on May 11, 2023, on the grounds that it failed to meet the public benefit criteria, and that the DES Approval conflicts with the Hearing Officer’s May 11, 2022 Order determining that DES had acted unlawfully in issuing the Permit, and requested expedited review. The Council has denied CLF's request for expedited review. CLF withdrew its appeal by notice to the Council on February 7, 2024. In light of CLF's withdrawal of appeal, this matter is fully resolved.
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 risk-free interest rates associated with our environmental remediation liabilities as of December 31, 2023 range between 1.5% and 7.1%. A summary of the changes to the aggregate environmental remediation liabilities for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 follows:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
20232022
Beginning balance$6,335 $5,887 
Accretion expense100 104 
Obligations incurred (1)
— 759 
Obligations settled (2)
(546)(415)
Ending balance5,889 6,335 
Less: current portion1,662 814 
Long-term portion$4,227 $5,521 
(1)Associated with the investigation of potential remediation at an inactive waste disposal site that adjoins one of the landfills that we operate.
(2)May include amounts paid and amounts that are being processed through accounts payable as a part of our disbursement cycle.
The total expected environmental remediation payments, as of December 31, 2023 for each of the next five fiscal years and thereafter are as follows:
Fiscal year ending December 31, 2024$1,499 
Fiscal year ending December 31, 2025308 
Fiscal year ending December 31, 2026318 
Fiscal year ending December 31, 2027299 
Fiscal year ending December 31, 2028306 
Thereafter3,704 
Total$6,434 
A reconciliation of the expected aggregate non-inflated, undiscounted environmental remediation liabilities to the amount recognized in our consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2023 is as follows:
Undiscounted liability$6,434 
Less discount, net(545)
Liability balance - December 31, 2023$5,889 
Any substantial liability incurred by us arising from environmental damage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.