Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Note 3 - M&EC Facility

v3.6.0.2
Note 3 - M&EC Facility
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Notes to Financial Statements  
Property, Plant, and Equipment and Intangible Assets [Text Block]
NOTE
3
M&EC FACILITY
 
During the
second
quarter of
2016,
the Company’s M&EC subsidiary was notified by the lessor that the lease agreement under which M&EC currently operates its Oak Ridge, Tennessee facility would not be renewed at the end of the current lease term ending
January
21,
2018.
In light of this event and our strategic review of operations within our Treatment Segment, the Company is proceeding with a plan to close its M&EC facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee at the end of the lease term. Operations at the M&EC facility are continuing during the remaining term of the lease and the facility has begun the process of transitioning waste shipments and operational capabilities to our other Treatment Segment facilities, subject to customer requirements and regulatory approvals.
Simultaneously, the Company has begun required clean-up/maintenance procedures at M&EC’s Oak Ridge, Tennessee facility in accordance with M&EC’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) permit requirements. As a result of the Company’s decision to close its M&EC facility, the Company’s financial results were impacted by certain non-cash impairment losses, write-offs and accruals recorded during the
second
quarter of
2016
as described below.
 
The Company performs its annual intangible test as of
October
1
of each year. As permitted by ASC
350,
“Intangibles-Goodwill and Other,” when an impairment indicator arises during an interim reporting period, the Company
may
recognize its best estimates of that impairment loss. The Company performed a discounted cash flow analysis prepared as of
June
30,
2016
for M&EC’s intangible assets (permits), utilizing our best estimates of projected future cash flows. Based on this analysis, the Company concluded that potential impairment existed and subsequently determined that the permit for our M&EC subsidiary was fully impaired as a result of the non-renewal of the lease, resulting in an intangible impairment loss of approximately
$8,288,000.
 
M&EC is required to complete certain clean-up/maintenance activities at its Oak Ridge, Tennessee facility pursuant to its RCRA permit. The extent and cost of these activities are determined by federal/state mandate requirements. The Company performed an analysis and related estimate of the cost to complete the RCRA portion of these activities and based on this analysis, the Company recorded an additional
$1,626,000
in closure liabilities with a corresponding increase to capitalized ARO costs, which is to be depreciated over the remaining term of the lease. The capitalized ARO costs is reported as a component of “Net Property and equipment” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
 
In accordance with ASC
360,
“Property, Plant, and Equipment,” the Company also performed an updated financial valuation of M&EC’s long-lived tangible assets, inclusive of the capitalized asset retirement costs, for potential impairment. Based on our analysis using an undiscounted cash flows approach, the Company concluded that the carrying value of certain tangible assets (property and equipment) for M&EC was not recoverable and exceeded its fair value. Consequently, the Company recorded
$1,816,000
in tangible asset impairment loss in the
second
quarter of
2016.
The Company also reevaluated the estimated useful lives of the remaining tangible assets and as a result of this analysis, reduced the current estimated useful lives of these assets ranging from
2
to
28
years at
June
30,
2016
to
1.6
years, the remaining term of the lease. Accordingly, the Company is depreciating the carrying value of M&EC’s remaining tangible assets of approximately
$4,728,000
at
June
30,
2016
over a period of approximately
1.6
years to the lease expiration date.
 
In the
second
quarter of
2016,
the Company also wrote-off approximately
$587,000
in fees previously incurred relating to emission performance testing certification requirement in order to meet state compliance mandate in connection with certain M&EC equipment which was impaired. Such amount had been previously included in “Prepaid and other assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
 
During the year ended
December
31,
2016
and
2015,
M&EC’s revenues were approximately
$4,419,000
and
$6,591,000,
respectively.