Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

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ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Environmental Remediation Obligations [Abstract]  
Asset Retirement Obligations
NOTE 13 - ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
The accrued closure obligation provides for contractual and legal obligations related to our indefinitely idled and closed operations and for the eventual closure of our active operations. The closure date for each of our active mine sites was determined based on the exhaustion date of the remaining mineral reserves, and the amortization of the related asset and accretion of the liability is recognized over the estimated mine lives. The closure date and expected timing of the capital requirements to meet our obligations for our indefinitely idled or closed mines is determined based on the unique circumstances of each property. For indefinitely idled or closed mines, the accretion of the liability is recognized over the anticipated timing of remediation. Asset retirement obligations at our steelmaking operations primarily include the closure and post-closure care for on-site landfills and other waste containment facilities. Asset retirement obligations have been recorded at present values using settlement dates based on when we expect these facilities to reach capacity and close.
We performed a detailed assessment of our asset retirement obligations related to our active mining operations most recently in 2023 in accordance with our accounting policy, which requires us to perform an in-depth evaluation of the liability every three years in addition to routine annual assessments. In 2023, we employed third-party specialists to assist in the evaluation.
The following is a summary of our asset retirement obligations:
December 31,
(In millions) 2023 2022
Asset retirement obligations1
$ 459  $ 520 
Less: current portion 15  21 
Long-term asset retirement obligations $ 444  $ 499 
1 Includes $259 million and $277 million related to our active operations as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The following is a roll-forward of our asset retirement obligation:
(In millions) 2023 2022
Asset retirement obligation as of January 1 $ 520  $ 449 
Decrease from sale of business (76) — 
Reclassification from environmental obligations —  63 
Accretion expense 26  26 
Remediation payments (21) (40)
Revision in estimated cash flows 10  22 
Asset retirement obligation as of December 31 $ 459  $ 520 
During 2023, we entered into a membership interest purchase agreement for the sale of the legal entities owning, among other things, our closed coal mines in Pennsylvania, resulting in a decrease to our asset retirement obligation.