FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Block)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

8. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Fair Value Of Financial Instruments Subject To Fair Value Measurements

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The following table sets forth the Company's financial assets and/or liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company's assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect the valuation of fair value and its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.

	Value Measurements At Reporting Date
	March 31,		December 31,
Description	2015		2014
	(amounts in thousands)
Liabilities
Deferred compensation - Level 1 ⁽¹⁾	$	10,970	$	11,017

⁽¹⁾ The Company’s deferred compensation liability, which is included in other long-term liabilities, is recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. The unfunded plan allows participants to hypothetically invest in various specified investment options. The deferred compensation plan liability is valued based on quoted market prices of the underlying investments.

Fair Value Of Financial Instruments Subject To Disclosures

The carrying amount of the following assets and liabilities approximates fair value due to the short maturity of these instruments: (1) cash and cash equivalents; (2) accounts receivable; and (3) accounts payable, including accrued liabilities.

The following table presents the carrying value of financial instruments and, where practicable, the fair value as of the periods indicated:

	March 31,				December 31,
	2015				2014
	Carrying		Fair		Carrying		Fair
	Value		Value		Value		Value
	(amounts in thousands)

Credit Facility ⁽¹⁾	$	261,250	$	260,597	$	262,000	$	261,345
Senior Notes ⁽²⁾	$	218,011	$	238,177	$	217,929	$	237,134
Letters of credit ⁽³⁾	$	620			$	620

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of financial instruments:

⁽¹⁾ The Company’s determination of the fair value of the Credit Facility was based on quoted prices for this instrument and is considered a Level 2 measurement.

⁽²⁾ The Company utilizes a Level 2 valuation input based upon the market trading prices of the Senior Notes to compute the fair value as these Senior Notes are traded in the debt securities market.

⁽³⁾ The Company does not believe it is practicable to estimate the fair value of the outstanding standby letters of credit and does not expect any material loss since the performance of the letters of credit is not likely to be required.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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