OTHER ITEMS AND CHARGES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Unusual or Infrequent Items, or Both [Abstract]

OTHER ITEMS AND CHARGES

OTHER ITEMS AND CHARGES

Expense from Acquisition Activities

In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded charges of $173 and $1,533, respectively, and in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recorded charges of $1,097 and $2,237, respectively, comprised primarily of legal, consulting and other similar costs associated with the acquisition and integration of acquired businesses or select development projects.

Southbridge Landfill Closure Charge

In 2017, we initiated the plan to cease operations of the Southbridge Landfill and later closed it in November 2018 when Southbridge Landfill reached its final capacity. Accordingly, in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 we recorded charges of $2,642 and $3,815, respectively, comprised of the following: $642 and $1,851 of legal and other costs in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, pertaining to various matters as part of the unplanned early closure of the Southbridge Landfill through completion of the closure process; a charge of $2,000 in both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 associated with a settlement pertaining to the Southbridge Landfill discussed further in Note 10, Commitments and Contingencies; a charge of $152 in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 due to changes in estimated costs and timing of final capping, closure and post-closure activities at the Southbridge Landfill; and a charge of $(188) in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 associated with the completion of environmental remediation at the site. In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recorded charges of $625 and $2,097, respectively, associated with legal and other costs pertaining to various matters as part of the unplanned early closure of the Southbridge Landfill through completion of the closure process.

Multiemployer Pension Plan

We make contributions to a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan, the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund (the “Pension Plan”), under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) that covers certain of our union-represented employees. The Pension Plan provides retirement benefits to participants based on their service to contributing employers. We do not administer the Pension Plan. The risks of participating in a multiemployer pension plan are different from a single-employer pension plan in that: (i) assets contributed to the multiemployer pension plan by one employer may be used to provide benefits to employees or former employees of other participating employers; (ii) if a participating employer stops contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan may be required to be assumed by the remaining participating employers; and (iii) if we choose to stop participating in our multiemployer Pension Plan, we may be required to pay the plan a withdrawal amount based on the underfunded status of the plan.

In October 2019, we reached an agreement to withdraw from the Pension Plan by entering into Withdrawal and Re-entry Agreements with the Pension Plan. In accordance with FASB ASC 450 - Contingencies, because of our withdrawal from the

Pension Plan, we recorded an obligation of $3,194 as of September 30, 2019 and a charge of $3,591 as pension withdrawal expense, offset by a $397 retroactive contribution credit recorded as cost of operations, in both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. While the withdrawal generates a fixed yearly contingent liability for us for a period of approximately seventeen (17) years, it caps our gross payments at $4,224, significantly reducing our cash exposure from the potential $18,511 withdrawal liability as determined based on a complete withdrawal. As per the Re-entry Agreements and upon withdrawal, we re-entered the Pension Plan with certainty from a liability perspective. We did not, however, change the terms of our CBA with Local 170, which remained in effect until it expired on June 30, 2020, at which time a new agreement was entered into.