DEBT

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Debt And Derivatives Disclosure [Abstract]

DEBT

DEBT

A summary of debt is as follows:

	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Senior Secured Credit Facility:
Revolving line of credit facility ("Revolving Credit Facility") due May 2023; bearing interest at LIBOR plus 1.75%	$	61,000	$	26,900
Term loan A facility ("Term Loan Facility") due May 2023; bearing interest at LIBOR plus 1.75%	350,000		350,000
Tax-Exempt Bonds:
New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2014 ("New York Bonds 2014") due December 2044 - fixed rate interest period through 2019; bearing interest at 2.875%	25,000		25,000
New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2014R-2 ("New York Bonds 2014R-2") due December 2044 - fixed rate interest period through 2026; bearing interest at 3.125%	15,000		15,000
Finance Authority of Maine Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2005R-3 ("FAME Bonds 2005R-3") due January 2025 - fixed rate interest period through 2025; bearing interest at 5.25%	25,000		25,000
Finance Authority of Maine Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2015R-1 ("FAME Bonds 2015R-1") due August 2035 - fixed rate interest period through 2025; bearing interest at 5.125%	15,000		15,000
Finance Authority of Maine Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2015R-2 ("FAME Bonds 2015R-2") due August 2035 - fixed rate interest period through 2025; bearing interest at 4.375%	15,000		15,000
Vermont Economic Development Authority Solid Waste Disposal Long-Term Revenue Bonds Series 2013 ("Vermont Bonds") due April 2036 - fixed rate interest period through 2028; bearing interest at 4.625%	16,000		16,000
Business Finance Authority of the State of New Hampshire Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2013 ("New Hampshire Bonds") due April 2029 - fixed rate interest period through 2029; bearing interest at 2.95%	11,000		11,000
Other:
Finance leases maturing through December 2107; bearing interest at a weighted average of 4.7%	23,829		18,364
Notes payable maturing through June 2027; bearing interest at a weighted average of 3.5%	5,181		5,464
Principal amount of debt	562,010		522,728
Less—unamortized debt issuance costs (1)	8,889		9,406
Debt less unamortized debt issuance costs	553,121		513,322
Less—current maturities of debt	5,392		4,301
	$	547,729	$	509,021

(1)A summary of unamortized debt issuance costs by debt instrument follows:

	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility (collectively, the "Credit Facility")	$	5,069	$	5,478
New York Bonds 2014	1,051		1,057
New York Bonds 2014R-2	374		390
FAME Bonds 2005R-3	411		432
FAME Bonds 2015R-1	534		552
FAME Bonds 2015R-2	399		417
Vermont Bonds	527		541
New Hampshire Bonds	524		539
	$	8,889	$	9,406

Credit Facility

As of March 31, 2020, we are party to a credit agreement ("Credit Agreement"), which provides for a $350,000 Term Loan Facility and a $200,000 Revolving Credit Facility. We have the right to request, at our discretion, an increase in the amount of loans under the Credit Facility by an aggregate amount of $125,000, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Credit Agreement.

The Credit Facility has a 5-year term that matures in May 2023 and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 1.75% per annum, which will be reduced to a rate of LIBOR plus as low as 1.25% upon us reaching a consolidated net leverage ratio of less than 2.25x. The Credit Facility is guaranteed jointly and severally, fully and unconditionally by all of our significant wholly-owned subsidiaries and secured by substantially all of our assets. As of March 31, 2020, further advances were available under the Credit Facility in the amount of $113,575. The available amount is net of outstanding irrevocable letters of credit totaling $25,425, at which date no amount had been drawn.

The Credit Agreement requires us to maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum consolidated net leverage ratio, to be measured at the end of each fiscal quarter. As of March 31, 2020, we were in compliance with the covenants contained in the Credit Agreement. In addition to these financial covenants, the Credit Agreement also contains a number of important customary affirmative and negative covenants which restrict, among other things, our ability to sell assets, incur additional debt, create liens, make investments, and pay dividends. We do not believe that these restrictions impact our ability to meet future liquidity needs. An event of default under any of our debt agreements could permit some of our lenders, including the lenders under the Credit Facility, to declare all amounts borrowed from them to be immediately due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, or, in the case of the Credit Facility, terminate the commitment to make further credit extensions thereunder, which could, in turn, trigger cross-defaults under other debt obligations. If we were unable to repay debt to our lenders, or were otherwise in default under any provision governing our outstanding debt obligations, our secured lenders could proceed against us and against the collateral securing that debt.

Cash Flow Hedges

Our strategy to reduce exposure to interest rate risk involves entering into interest rate derivative agreements to hedge against adverse movements in interest rates related to the variable rate portion of our long-term debt. In the three months ended March 31, 2020, we entered into three forward starting interest rate derivative agreements with a total notional amount of $60,000 that will serve to replace existing interest rate derivative agreements upon their expiration between June 2022 and May 2023. In the three months ended March 31, 2020, we also amended three interest rate derivative agreements to settle each of the 1.0% floors and replace each with a 0.0% floor in line with our Term Loan Facility, which resulted in us dedesignating the original hedging relationships. We subsequently designated new hedging relationships between the three interest rate derivative agreements and the variable rate interest payments related to the Term Loan Facility based on a quantitative assessment that was performed using regression analysis, which indicated that the hedging relationships were highly effective. Because the interest rate payments associated with the variable rate portion of our long-term debt will still occur, the net loss of $(765) associated with the dedesignated interest rate derivative agreements and the $430 cash settlement received in exchange for settling the 1.0% floors in accumulated other comprehensive loss were not reclassified into earnings. Instead, this loss and settlement amount will continue to be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss into interest expense as the interest payments affect earnings.

As of both March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, our interest rate derivative agreements have a total notional amount of $190,000. According to the terms of the agreements, we receive interest based on the 1-month LIBOR index and pay interest at a weighted average rate of approximately 2.54%. The agreements mature between February 2021 and May 2023.

Additionally, we have forward starting interest rate derivative agreements with a total notional amount of $125,000 that mature between February 2026 and May 2028. We receive interest based on the 1-month LIBOR index, restricted by a 0.0% floor, and will pay interest at a weighted average rate of approximately 1.63%.

We have designated these derivative instruments as highly effective cash flow hedges, and therefore the change in fair value is recorded in our stockholders’ equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss and included in interest expense at the same time as interest expense is affected by the hedged transactions. Differences paid or received over the life of the agreements are recorded as additions to or reductions of interest expense on the underlying debt and included in cash flows from operating activities.

A summary of the effect of cash flow hedges related to derivative instruments on the consolidated balance sheet follows:

		Fair Value
	Balance Sheet Location	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Interest rate swaps	Other accrued liabilities	$	4,166	$	1,824
Interest rate swaps	Other long-term liabilities	8,860		3,603
		$	13,026	$	5,427
Interest rate swaps	Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	(13,230)	$	(5,929)
Interest rate swaps - tax provision	Accumulated other comprehensive loss	—		(112)
		$	(13,230)	$	(6,041)

A summary of the amount of expense on cash flow hedging relationships related to interest rate swaps reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss into earnings follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Statement of Operations Location	(Expense) Income
Interest expense	$	(489)	$	(25)