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ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The terms “we,” “our,” “ours,” “us” and “Company” refer to Covanta Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries; the term “Covanta Energy” refers to our subsidiary Covanta Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Organization

We are one of the world’s largest owners and operators of infrastructure for the conversion of waste to energy (known as “energy-from-waste” or “EfW”), as well as other waste disposal and renewable energy production businesses. Energy-from-waste serves two key markets as both a sustainable waste disposal solution that is environmentally superior to landfilling and as a source of clean energy that reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions and is considered renewable under the laws of many states and under federal law. Our facilities are critical infrastructure assets that allow our customers, which are principally municipal entities, to provide an essential public service.

We operate and/or have ownership positions in 44 energy-from-waste facilities, which are primarily located in North America, and 18 additional energy generation facilities, including other renewable energy production facilities in North America (wood biomass, landfill gas and hydroelectric) and independent power production (“IPP”) facilities in Asia. We hold equity interests in energy-from-waste facilities in China and Italy. We also operate waste management infrastructure that is complementary to our core EfW business.

We have one reportable segment which is Americas and is comprised of waste and energy services operations primarily in the United States and Canada. For additional information, see Note 5. Financial Information by Business Segments.

In 2010, we adopted a plan to sell our interests in our fossil fuel independent power production facilities in the Philippines, India, and Bangladesh. During the first quarter of 2011, we completed the sale of our interests in a 510 megawatt (“MW”) (gross) coal-fired electric power generation facility in the Philippines (“Quezon”) and we completed the sale of our majority equity interests in a 106 MW (gross) heavy fuel-oil fired electric power generation facilities in Tamil Nadu, India (“Samalpatti”). In April 2011, we signed an agreement to sell our majority equity interests in our 106 MW (gross) heavy fuel-oil fired electric power generation facility, also in Tamil Nadu, India (“Madurai”). The remaining asset held for sale is our equity interest in a barge-mounted 126 MW (gross) diesel/natural gas-fired electric power generation facility located near Haripur, Bangladesh. See Note 3. Assets Held for Sale and Dispositions for additional information.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (including normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for fair presentation have been included in our financial statements. All intra-entity accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Operating results for the interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. This Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 (“Form 10-K”).

We use the equity method to account for our investments for which we have the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee. Consolidated net income includes our proportionate share of the net income or loss of these companies. Such amounts are classified as “equity in net income from unconsolidated investments” in our condensed consolidated financial statements. Investments in companies in which we do not have the ability to exercise significant influence are carried at the lower of cost or estimated realizable value. We monitor investments for other-than-temporary declines in value and make reductions when appropriate.

Reclassifications

As more fully described in Note 3. Assets Held for Sale and Dispositions, during the fourth quarter of 2010, the operations of our fossil fuel independent power production facilities held for sale met the criteria to be classified as discontinued operations. The assets and liabilities associated with these businesses are presented in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as “Current Assets Held for Sale” and “Current Liabilities Held for Sale.” The results of operations of these businesses are included in the condensed consolidated statements of operations as “Income from discontinued operations, net of tax.” The cash flows of these businesses are also presented separately in our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. All corresponding prior year periods presented in our condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been reclassified to reflect the discontinued operations presentation.

During the first quarter of 2011, we corrected our presentation of the condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2010 to adjust a portion of the excess of purchase price over par value for treasury stock transactions from additional paid-in capital to retained earnings. We have adjusted approximately $66 million to retained earnings from additional paid-in capital as of December 31, 2010. This change had no impact on total equity.