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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2012
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | NOTE 13 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Hazardous Waste In connection with our waste management services, we handle both hazardous and non-hazardous waste, which we transport to our own, or other, facilities for destruction or disposal. As a result of disposing of hazardous substances, in the event any cleanup is required, we could be a potentially responsible party for the costs of the cleanup notwithstanding any absence of fault on our part. Legal Matters In the normal course of conducting our business, we are involved in various litigations. We are not a party to any litigation or governmental proceeding which our management believes could result in any judgments or fines against us that would have a material adverse affect on our financial position, liquidity or results of future operations. Earn-Out Amount – Perma-Fix Northwest, Inc. ("PFNW") and Perma-Fix Northwest Richland, Inc. ("PFNWR") In connection with the acquisition of PFNW and PFNWR in June 2007, we were required to pay to those former shareholders of Nuvotec (which includes Mr. Robert L. Ferguson, a member of our Board of Directors who did not stand for re-election at our 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on September 13, 2012 – see Note 15 – "Related Party Transactions – Mr. Robert L. Ferguson") an earn-out amount upon meeting certain conditions for each measurement year ended June 30, 2008 to June 30, 2011, with the aggregate of the full earn-out amount not to exceed $4,552,000, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, as amended ("Agreement"). As of December 31, 2012, an aggregate earn-out amount of $3,896,000 has been paid or is payable as follows: (i) $2,574,000 in cash; and (ii) we issued a promissory note, dated September 28, 2010, in the principal amount of $1,322,000, payable in thirty six equal monthly payments of approximately $40,000 consisting of interest and principal, starting October 15, 2010. The total $3,896,000 in earn-out amount paid to date or to be paid pursuant to the promissory note excludes approximately an aggregate $656,000 in Offset Amount, which represents an indemnification obligation (as defined by the Merger Agreement) which is payable or may be payable to the Company by the former shareholders of Nuvotec. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the aggregate amount of any Offset Amount may total up to $1,000,000, except an Offset Amount is unlimited as to indemnification relating to liabilities for taxes, misrepresentation or inaccuracies with respect to the capitalization of Nuvotec or PEcoS or for willful or reckless misrepresentation of any representation, warranty or covenant. The $656,000 Offset Amount (which was recorded as part of the purchase price allocation of PFWNR) represents approximately $93,000 relating to an excise tax issue and a refund request from a PEcoS customer in connection with services for waste treatment prior to our acquisition of PFNWR and PFNW and an anticipated Offset Amount of $563,000 in connection with the receipt of nonconforming waste at the PFNWR facility prior to our acquisition of PFNWR and PFNW. We are currently involved in litigation with the party that delivered the nonconforming waste to the facility prior to our acquisition of PFNWR and PFNW. Pension Liability We had a pension withdrawal liability of $301,000 at December 31, 2012, based upon a withdrawal letter received from Central States Teamsters Pension Fund ("CST"), resulting from the termination of the union employees at PFMI and a subsequent actuarial study performed. In August 2005, we received a demand letter from CST, amending the liability to $1,629,000, and provided for the payment of $22,000 per month, including interest at 8% per annum, over an eight year period. Insurance The Company has a 25-year finite risk insurance policy entered into in June 2003 with Chartis, a subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. ("AIG"), which provides financial assurance to the applicable states for our permitted facilities in the event of unforeseen closure. Prior to obtaining or renewing operating permits, we are required to provide financial assurance that guarantees to the states that in the event of closure, our permitted facilities will be closed in accordance with the regulations. The policy, as amended, provides for a maximum allowable coverage of $39,000,000 and has available capacity to allow for annual inflation and other performance and surety bond requirements. We have made all of the required payments for this finite risk insurance policy, as amended, of which the last two payments ($1,073,000 and $1,054,000) were made in the first quarter of 2012. Fourteen payments totaling $18,305,000 have been made for this policy of which $14,472,000 has been deposited into a sinking fund account which represents a restricted cash account; $2,883,000 represented full/terrorism premium; and $950,000 represented fee payable to Chartis. As of December 31, 2012, our financial assurance coverage amount under this policy totaled approximately $37,524,000. We have recorded $15,382,000 in our sinking fund related to the policy noted above in other long term assets on the accompanying balance sheets, which includes interest earned of $911,000 on the sinking fund as of December 31, 2012. Interest income for twelve months ended December 31, 2012, was approximately $30,000. On the fourth and subsequent anniversaries of the contract inception, we may elect to terminate this contract. If we so elect, Chartis is obligated to pay us an amount equal to 100% of the sinking fund account balance in return for complete releases of liability from both us and any applicable regulatory agency using this policy as an instrument to comply with financial assurance requirements. In August 2007, we entered into a second finite risk insurance policy for our PFNWR facility with Chartis. The policy provided an initial $7,800,000 of financial assurance coverage with an annual growth rate of 1.5%, which at the end of the four year term policy, provides maximum coverage of $8,200,000. We have made all of the required payments on this policy, totaling $7,158,000, of which $5,700,000 has been deposited into a sinking fund account and $1,458,000 represented premium. As of December 31, 2012, we have recorded $5,890,000 in our sinking fund related to this policy in other long term assets on the accompanying balance sheets, which includes interest earned of $190,000 on the sinking fund as of December 31, 2012. Interest income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012 totaled approximately $3,000. This policy is renewed annually at the end of the four year term with a nominal fee for the variance between the policy and coverage requirement. We renewed this policy in 2011 and 2012 with an annual fee of $46,000. All other terms of the policy remain substantially unchanged. Operating Leases We lease certain facilities and equipment under operating leases. The following table lists future minimum rental payments as of December 31, 2012 under these leases for our continuing operations (in thousands):
Year ending December 31: |  |  |
2013 |  | $ | 883 |
2014 |  |  | 802 |
2015 |  |  | 733 |
2016 |  |  | 587 |
2017 |  |  | 529 |
beyond 2017 |  |  | 174 |
Total |  | $ | 3,708 |
We have no future minimum rental payment requirement for our discontinued operations as of December 31, 2012. Total rent expense was $1,569,000, $1,289,000, and $1,025,000 for 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively for our continuing operations. These amounts included payments on non-cancelable operating leases of approximately $972,000, $762,000, and $653,000 for 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively. The remaining rent expense was for non-contractual monthly and daily rentals of specific use vehicles, machinery and equipment. Total rent expense was $42,000, $239,000, and $269,000 for 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively for our discontinued operations. These amounts included payments on non-cancelable operating leases of approximately $5,000, $135,000, and $216,000, respectively. The remaining rent expense was for non-contractual monthly and daily rentals of specific use vehicles, machinery and equipment.

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