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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION (Notes)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Notes To Financial Statements [Abstract]  
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Other Operating Expense, net
Insurance Recoveries
Fairfax County Energy-from-Waste Facility
In February 2017, our Fairfax County energy-from-waste facility experienced a fire in the front-end receiving portion of the facility. During the first quarter of 2017, we completed our evaluation of the impact of this event and recorded an immaterial asset impairment, which we have since recovered from insurance proceeds. The facility resumed operations in December 2017. We expect receipt of remaining insurance recoveries for both property loss and business interruption to in 2018.
Plymouth Energy-from-Waste Facility
In May 2016, our Plymouth energy-from-waste facility experienced a turbine generator failure. Damage to the turbine generator was extensive and operations at the facility were suspended promptly to assess the cause and extent of damage. The facility is capable of processing waste without utilizing the turbine generator to generate electricity, and we resumed waste processing operations in early June of 2016. The facility resumed generating electricity early in the first quarter of 2017 after the generator and other damaged equipment were replaced.
The cost of repair or replacement of assets and business interruption losses for the above matters are insured under the terms of applicable insurance policies, subject to deductibles.
We recorded insurance gains, as a reduction to "Other operating expense, net" in our consolidated statement of operations as follows (in millions):
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Insurance gains for property and clean-up costs, net of impairment charges
$
7

 
$
1

 
$

Insurance gains for business interruption costs, net of costs incurred
$
23

 
$
4

 
$

We recorded insurance recoveries, as a reduction to "Plant operating expense" in our consolidated statement of operations as follows (in millions):
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Insurance recoveries for business interruption and clean-up costs, net of costs incurred
$

 
$
3

 
$



Hennepin County Legal Settlement
On September 25, 2017, we settled a dispute with Hennepin County, Minnesota regarding extension provisions in our service contract to operate the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center. We received $8 million in connection with the settlement and will continue to operate the facility through March 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we recorded a gain on settlement of $8 million as a reduction of "Other operating expense, net" in our consolidated statement of operations.

Impairment Charges
Impairment charges are as follows (in millions):
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
North America segment:
 
 
 
 
 
Impairment charges
$
2

 
$
20

 
$
43

During the year ended December 31, 2016, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $13 million, pre-tax, related to the previously planned closure of our Pittsfield EfW facility which we now continue to operate. Such amount was calculated based on the estimated liquidation value of the tangible equipment utilizing Level 3 inputs.
We are party to a joint venture that was formed to recover and recycle metals from EfW ash monofills in North America. During the year ended December 31, 2016, due to operational difficulties and the decline in the scrap metal market, a valuation of the entity was conducted. As a result, we recorded a net impairment of our investment in this joint venture of $3 million, pre-tax, which represents our portion of the carrying value of the entity in excess of the fair value. Such amount was calculated based on the estimated liquidation value of the tangible equipment utilizing Level 3 inputs.
During the year ended 2015, we identified indicators of impairment associated with our biomass facilities, primarily due to a decline in energy market pricing. As a result of these developments, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $43 million, pre-tax, which was calculated based on a range of potential outcomes utilizing various estimated cash flows for these facilities utilizing Level 3 inputs.
For more information regarding fair value measurements, see Note 11. Financial Instruments.

Selected Supplementary Balance Sheet Information
Selected supplementary balance sheet information is as follows (in millions):
 
As of December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Prepaid expenses
$
22

 
$
28

Hedge receivables

 
3

Spare parts
22

 
21

Renewable energy credits
6

 
3

Other
23

 
17

Total prepaid expenses and other current assets
$
73

 
$
72

 
 
 
 
Operating expenses, payroll and related expenses
$
145

 
$
164

Deferred revenue
14

 
16

Accrued liabilities to client communities
17

 
19

Interest payable
37

 
30

Dividends payable
36

 
35

Other
64

 
25

Total accrued expenses and other current liabilities
$
313

 
$
289