Note

Environmental and Reclamation Activities

The liabilities accrued for our reclamation and closure costs at

December

31,

2018

and

2017

were as follows (in thousands):

	2018			2017
Operating properties:
Greens Creek	$	41,839		$	41,677
Lucky Friday		10,698			9,911
Casa Berardi		5,843			6,729
San Sebastian		7,765			5,067
Nevada Operations		23,272			—
Non-operating properties:
Troy mine		8,971			12,724
Johnny M		5,813			5,813
Republic		1,500			1,500
All other sites		2,688			2,624
Total		108,389			86,045
Reclamation and closure costs, current		(3,410	)		(6,679	)
Reclamation and closure costs, long-term	$	104,979		$	79,366

The activity in our accrued reclamation and closure cost liability for the years ended

December

31,

2018,

2017

and

2016

was as follows (in thousands):

Balance at January 1, 2016	$	95,538
Accruals for estimated costs		705
Accretion expense		3,158
Revision of estimated cash flows due to changes in reclamation plans		2,759
Liability addition due to acquisition of Mines Management		1,124
Payment of reclamation obligations		(17,704	)
Balance at December 31, 2016		85,580
Accruals for estimated costs		16
Accretion expense		4,870
Revision of estimated cash flows due to changes in reclamation plans		(578	)
Payment of reclamation obligations		(3,843	)
Balance at December 31, 2017		86,045
Accruals for estimated costs		250
Accretion expense		5,309
Revision of estimated cash flows due to changes in reclamation plans		1,280
Liability addition due to acquisition of the Nevada Operations unit		19,571
Payment of reclamation obligations		(4,066	)
Balance at December 31, 2018	$	108,389

On each of

June 15, 2016

and

September 19, 2016,

a Consent Decree settling environmental claims involving our wholly-owned subsidiary, CoCa Mines, Inc. ("CoCa") at the Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock Pile site (Colorado) and Gilt Edge site (South Dakota), respectively, was approved and entered by the U.S. District Court in Colorado and South Dakota, respectively. Pursuant to the Consent Decrees, CoCa paid an aggregate of

million in

August 2016

to the United States and the State of Colorado, and an aggregate of

$3.9

million in

November 2016

to the United States and the State of South Dakota (insurers and another potentially responsible party ("PRP") paid an additional

$6.7

million to settle the Gilt Edge matter). As a result, CoCa has resolved the claims with respect to the Gilt Edge and Nelson Tunnel sites. During the negotiations leading up to these settlements, in the

second

quarter of

2015

we accrued

$9.9

million by recording a liability for the total amount that would be paid by CoCa to settle these matters, and an asset for the amount to be recovered by CoCa from insurers and the other settling PRP with respect to the Gilt Edge site.

Asset Retirement Obligations

Below is a reconciliation as of

December

31,

2018

and

2017

(in thousands) of the asset retirement obligations ("ARO") relating to our operating properties, which are included in our total accrued reclamation and closure costs of

$108.4

million and

$86.0

million, respectively, discussed above. The estimated reclamation and abandonment costs were discounted using credit adjusted, risk-free interest rates ranging from

5.75%

14.5%

from the time we incurred the obligation to the time we expect to pay the retirement obligation.

	2018			2017
Balance January 1	$	63,384		$	59,275
Changes in obligations due to changes in reclamation plans		1,280			(578	)
Addition due to acquisition of the Nevada Operations unit		19,571			—
Accretion expense		5,295			4,870
Payment of reclamation obligations		(113	)		(183	)
Balance at December 31	$	89,417		$	63,384

In the

fourth

quarter of

2018,

we updated the ARO at Greens Creek to reflect a plan for reclamation and closure of the mine at the end of its life having estimated undiscounted costs of approximately

$114.9

million, an increase from the

$100.1

million in the previous plan. However, the ARO asset and liability decreased by

$3.2

million as a result of a change in the estimated timing of costs and the impact of discounting the costs to present value.

In the

fourth

quarter of

2018,

we updated the ARO at San Sebastian to include estimated costs for expansion of an open pit and the addition of new facilities, resulting in an increase in undiscounted costs of

$2.8

million and increase in the ARO asset and liability of

$2.3

million.

In the

fourth

quarter of

2018,

we revised the AROs for the Nevada Operations unit to reflect updates to the reclamation plans for each mine site, resulting in an increase in undiscounted costs of

$1.3

million and increase in the ARO asset and liability of

$3.1

million.

The ARO layers related to the changes described above were discounted using a credit adjusted, risk-free interest rate of

7.5%

and inflation rates ranging from

4%.