Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

9. Commitments and Contingencies

 

Hazardous Waste

 

In connection with our waste management services, we process 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 litigation. 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 effect on our financial position, liquidity or results of future operations.

 

Insurance

 

The Company has a 25-year finite risk insurance policy entered into in June 2003 with American International Group, Inc. (“AIG”), which provides financial assurance to the applicable states for our permitted facilities in the event of unforeseen closure. 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. At March 31, 2018, our financial assurance coverage amount under this policy totaled approximately $29,911,000. The Company has recorded $15,726,000 and $15,676,000 in sinking funds related to this policy in other long term assets on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, which includes interest earned of $1,255,000 and $1,205,000 on the sinking funds as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was approximately $50,000 and $27,000, respectively. If the Company so elects, AIG is obligated to pay the Company an amount equal to 100% of the sinking fund account balance in return for complete release of liability from both the Company and any applicable regulatory agency using this policy as an instrument to comply with financial assurance requirements.

 

Letter of Credits and Bonding Requirements

 

From time to time, the Company is required to post standby letters of credit and various bonds to support contractual obligations to customers and other obligations, including facility closures. At March 31, 2018, the total amount of standby letters of credit outstanding totaled approximately $2,660,000 and the total amount of bonds outstanding totaled approximately $8,767,000.