HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

Our operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to the discharge of materials into the environment, waste management and pollution prevention measures, among others. Our operations are also subject to extensive federal, state and local health and safety laws and regulations, including those relating to worker and pipeline safety, pipeline integrity and operator qualifications. The principal environmental and safety risks associated with our operations relate to unauthorized or unpermitted emissions into the air, unauthorized releases into soil, surface water or groundwater, and personal injury and property damage. Compliance with these environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and related permits increases our capital expenditures and our overall cost of business, and violations of these laws, regulations or permits can result in significant civil and criminal liabilities, injunctions or other penalties.

Most of our pipelines are subject to federal regulation by one or more of the following governmental agencies: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the FERC), the Surface Transportation Board (the STB), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Homeland Security. Additionally, the operations and integrity of the pipelines are subject to the respective state jurisdictions along the route of the systems.

We have adopted policies, practices and procedures including in the areas of pollution control, pipeline integrity, operator qualifications, public relations and education, process safety management, risk management planning, hazard communication, emergency response planning, community right-to-know, occupational health and the handling, storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, that are designed to comply with applicable federal, state and local regulations and to prevent material environmental or other damage, to ensure the safety of our pipelines, our employees, the public and the environment and to limit the financial liability that could result from such events. Future governmental action and regulatory initiatives could result in changes to expected operating permits and procedures, additional remedial actions or increased capital expenditures and operating costs that cannot be assessed with certainty at this time. In addition, contamination resulting from spills of petroleum and other products occurs within the industry. Risks of additional costs and liabilities are inherent within the industry, and there can be no assurances that significant costs and liabilities will not be incurred in the future.

Environmental and safety exposures and liabilities are difficult to assess and estimate due to unknown factors such as the timing and extent of remediation, the determination of our liability in proportion to other parties, improvements in cleanup technologies and the extent to which environmental and safety laws and regulations may change in the future. Although environmental and safety costs may have a significant impact on the results of operations for any single period, we believe that such costs will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position.

The balance of and changes in the accruals for environmental matters were as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
	2015			2014
	(Thousands of Dollars)
Balance as of the beginning of year	$	6,598		$	6,233
Additions to accrual	3,685			3,292
Payments	(2,574		)	(2,878		)
Foreign currency translation	(42		)	(49		)
Balance as of the end of year	$	7,667		$	6,598

Accruals for environmental matters are included in the consolidated balance sheets as follows:



	December 31,
	2015		2014
	(Thousands of Dollars)
Accrued liabilities	$	4,350	$	3,518
Other long-term liabilities	3,317		3,080
Accruals for environmental matters	$	7,667	$	6,598