Note 14. Environmental Liabilities and Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs)

Environmental Liabilities

The Partnership owns or leases properties where refined petroleum products, gasoline blendstocks, renewable fuels and crude oil are being or may have been handled. These properties and the refined petroleum products, gasoline blendstocks, renewable fuels and crude oil handled thereon may be subject to federal and state environmental laws and regulations. Under such laws and regulations, the Partnership could be required to remove or remediate containerized hazardous liquids or associated generated wastes (including wastes disposed of or abandoned by prior owners or operators), to clean up contaminated property arising from the release of liquids, pollutants or wastes into the environment, including contaminated groundwater, or to implement best management practices to prevent future contamination.

The Partnership maintains insurance of various types with varying levels of coverage that it considers adequate under the circumstances to cover its operations and properties. The insurance policies are subject to deductibles that the Partnership considers reasonable and not excessive. In addition, the Partnership has entered into indemnification agreements with various sellers in conjunction with several of its acquisitions. Certain environmental remediation obligations at several acquired retail gasoline station assets from Capitol in June 2015 and Alliance Energy LLC (“Alliance”) in March 2012 are being funded by third parties who assumed certain liabilities in connection with Capitol’s acquisition of these assets from ExxonMobil in 2009 and 2010 and Alliance’s acquisition of these assets from ExxonMobil in 2011 and, therefore, cost estimates for such obligations at these stations are not included in this estimate of liability to the Partnership. Allocation of a known environmental liability is an issue negotiated in connection with each of the Partnership’s acquisition transactions. In each case, the Partnership makes an assessment of potential environmental liability exposure based on available information. Based on that assessment and relevant economic and risk factors, the Partnership determines whether to, and the extent to which it will, assume liability for existing environmental conditions.

The following table presents a summary roll forward of the Partnership’s environmental liabilities, which were recorded on an undiscounted basis, at December 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Balance at						Other		Balance at
	December 31,		Payments		Dispositions		Adjustments		December 31,
Environmental Liability Related to:	2018		2019		2019		2019		2019
Retail gasoline stations	$	59,133	$	(3,129)	$	(1,425)	$	914	$	55,493
Terminals		4,091		(313)		—		—		3,778
Total environmental liabilities	$	63,224	$	(3,442)	$	(1,425)	$	914	$	59,271
Current portion	$	6,092							$	5,009
Long-term portion		57,132								54,262
Total environmental liabilities	$	63,224							$	59,271

In addition to environmental liabilities related to the Partnership’s retail gasoline stations, the Partnership retains some of the environmental obligations associated with certain gasoline stations that the Partnership has sold.

The Partnership’s estimates used in these environmental liabilities are based on all known facts at the time and its assessment of the ultimate remedial action outcomes. Among the many uncertainties that impact the Partnership’s estimates are the necessary regulatory approvals for, and potential modification of, its remediation plans, the amount of data available upon initial assessment of the impact of soil or water contamination, changes in costs associated with environmental remediation services and equipment, relief of obligations through divestitures of sites and the possibility of existing legal claims giving rise to additional claims. Dispositions generally represent relief of legal obligations through the sale of the related property with no retained obligation. Other adjustments generally represent changes in estimates for existing obligations or obligations associated with new sites. Therefore, although the Partnership believes that these environmental liabilities are adequate, no assurances can be made that any costs incurred in excess of these environmental liabilities or outside of indemnifications or not otherwise covered by insurance would not have a material adverse effect on the Partnership’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs)

A RIN is a serial number assigned to a batch of renewable fuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Renewable Fuel Standard that originated with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and modified by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. To evidence that the required volume of renewable fuel is blended with gasoline and diesel motor vehicle fuels, obligated parties must retire sufficient RINs to cover their Renewable Volume Obligation (“RVO”). The Partnership’s EPA obligations relative to renewable fuel reporting are comprised of foreign gasoline and diesel that the Partnership may import and blending operations at certain facilities. As a wholesaler of transportation fuels through its terminals, the Partnership separates RINs from renewable fuel through blending with gasoline and can use those separated RINs to settle its RVO. While the annual compliance period for the RVO is a calendar year and the settlement of the RVO typically occurs by March 31 of the following year, the settlement of the RVO can occur, under certain EPA deferral actions, more than one year after the close of the compliance period.

The Partnership’s Wholesale segment’s operating results may be sensitive to the timing associated with its RIN position relative to its RVO at a point in time, and the Partnership may recognize a mark‑to‑market liability for a shortfall in RINs at the end of each reporting period. To the extent that the Partnership does not have a sufficient number of RINs to satisfy the RVO as of the balance sheet date, the Partnership charges cost of sales for such deficiency based on the market price of the RINs as of the balance sheet date and records a liability representing the Partnership’s obligation to purchase RINs. The Partnership’s RVO deficiency was $0.9 million and $0.6 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The Partnership may enter into RIN forward purchase and sales commitments. Total losses from firm non-cancellable commitments were immaterial at both December 31, 2019 and 2018.