ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

See Note 1 for a discussion of the Company's accounting policy associated with AROs.

Specifically, the Company has recorded liabilities for future AROs to:


•	restore coal ash containment ponds at Colstrip,


•	cap a landfill at the Kettle Falls Plant,


•	remove plant and restore the land at the Coyote Springs 2 site at the termination of the land lease, and


•	dispose of PCBs in certain transformers.

Due to an inability to estimate a range of settlement dates, the Company cannot estimate a liability for the:


•	removal and disposal of certain transmission and distribution assets, and


•	abandonment and decommissioning of certain hydroelectric generation and natural gas storage facilities.

On April 17, 2015, the EPA published a final rule regarding CCRs, also termed coal combustion byproducts or coal ash in the Federal Register and this rule became effective on October 15, 2015. Colstrip, of which Avista Corp. is a 15 percent owner of units 3 and 4, produces this byproduct. The rule establishes technical requirements for CCR landfills and surface impoundments under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the nation's primary law for regulating solid waste. The Company, in conjunction with the other Colstrip owners, is developing a multi-year compliance plan to strategically address the new CCR requirements and existing State obligations while maintaining operational stability. During the second quarter of 2015, the operator of Colstrip provided an initial cost estimate of the expected retirement costs associated with complying with the new CCR rule and this estimate was subsequently updated during the fourth quarter of 2015. Based on the initial assessments, Avista Corp. recorded an increase to its ARO of $12.5 million during 2015 with a corresponding increase in the cost basis of the utility plant.

The actual asset retirement costs related to the new CCR rule requirements may vary substantially from the estimates used to record the increased obligation due to uncertainty about the compliance strategies that will be used and the preliminary nature of available data used to estimate costs, such as the quantity of coal ash present at certain sites and the volume of fill that will be needed to cap and cover certain impoundments. Avista Corp. will coordinate with the plant operator and continue to gather additional data in future periods to make decisions about compliance strategies and the timing of closure activities. As additional information becomes available, Avista Corp. will update the ARO for these changes in estimates, which could be material. The Company expects to seek recovery of any increased costs related to complying with the new rule through customer rates.

The following table documents the changes in the Company’s asset retirement obligation during the years ended December 31 (dollars in thousands):



	2015			2014			2013
Asset retirement obligation at beginning of year	$	3,028		$	2,859		$	3,168
Liabilities incurred	12,539			—			—
Liabilities settled	(29		)	(41		)	(263		)
Accretion expense (income)	459			210			(46		)
Asset retirement obligation at end of year	$	15,997		$	3,028		$	2,859