|
Commitments and Contingencies
|
3 Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mar. 31, 2012
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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 ("PRP") 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 effect on our financial position, liquidity or results of future operations. Earn-Out Amount In connection with the acquisition of PFNW and PFNWR in June 2007, we were required to pay to those former shareholders of Nuvotec 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 March 31, 2012, an aggregate earn-out amount of $3,896,000 has been paid 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, as discussed above. 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 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. 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. This finite risk insurance policy, as amended, requires the following payments:
We have made all of the payments above. As of March 31, 2012, our financial assurance coverage amount under this policy totaled approximately $37,496,000. We have recorded $15,361,000 in our sinking fund related to the policy noted above on the balance sheet, which includes interest earned of $889,000 on the sinking fund as of March 31, 2012. Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2012, was approximately $8,000. 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 the option to renew this policy at the end of the four year term. The policy requires total payments of $7,158,000, consisting of an initial payment of $1,363,000 ($1,106,000 represented premium on the policy and the remaining was deposited into a sinking fund account), two annual payments of $1,520,000 (for each annual payment, $1,344,000 was deposited into a sinking fund and the remaining represented premium), and an additional $2,755,000 payment (paid quarterly and all deposited into a sinking fund). We have made all of the payments. As of March 31, 2012, we have recorded $5,885,000 in our sinking fund related to this policy on the balance sheet, which includes interest earned of $185,000 on the sinking fund as of March 31, 2012. Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 totaled approximately $4,000. On July 31, 2011, the policy was renewed for an additional year which required a $46,000 fee. We have the option to renew this policy annually going forward with a similar fee which will be determined at the time of renewal. All other terms of the policy remain substantially unchanged. |