Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Asset Retirement Obligation

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Asset Retirement Obligation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]  
Asset Retirement Obligation

7.         Asset Retirement Obligation

 

ASC Topic 410-20, “Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations, Asset Retirement Obligations” requires the recording of a liability in the period in which an asset retirement obligation (ARO) is incurred, in an amount equal to the discounted estimated fair value of the obligation that is capitalized. In each subsequent fiscal quarter, this liability is accreted up to the final retirement cost. The determination of the ARO is based on an estimate of the future cost to remove and decontaminate the McCarran facility upon closure. The actual costs could be higher or lower than current estimates. The discounted estimated fair value of the closure costs is $670,000 and the obligation was recorded as of March 31, 2017, when the obligation was deemed to have occurred. Offsetting this ARO is, as noted in Note 5 above, an asset retirement cost of the same amount that has been capitalized. The estimated fair value of the closure costs is based on vendor quotes to remove and decontaminate the McCarran facility in accordance with the Company’s closure plan as filed with the State of Nevada in its “Application for the Recycling of Hazardous Waste, by Written Determination” in 2016. Accretion of the ARO for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 was $11,000 and $21,000, respectively.

 

The Company has entered into a facility closure trust agreement for the benefit of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), an agency of the Nevada Division of Conservation and Natural Resources. Funds deposited in the trust are to be available, when and if needed, for potential decontamination and hazardous material cleanup in connection with the closure and/or post-closure care of the facility. The trustee will reimburse the Company or other persons as specified by the NDEP from the fund for closure and post-closure expenditures in such amounts as the NDEP shall direct in writing. $100,000 was contributed to the trust fund on October 31, 2016 and is included in other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheet; $350,000 will be due and payable on October 31, 2017, and $220,000 will be due on October 31, 2018.