# ASC 410-30-15: Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations — Environmental Obligations — 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions

Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View

[Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/410/30/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions)

Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective.

Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure.

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z to 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z

Record version: sha256:e8e6b834ba6829e46f9d74af9e257c0ab645ba6ce844966ddf4f88f27e9042e0

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


## ASC 410-30-15: 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions

[Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/410/30/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions)

SEC content: no

#### Entities

##### [410-30-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/410/30/#410-30-15-1)

Pending content: no

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z to 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z

Record version: sha256:45aba4f925daac6fcd2f7db4ad68e3a1a632f63b6acb7552ae95d3a71bcc6b5b

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


The provisions of this Subtopic apply to all entities. This Subtopic provides guidance on accounting for environmental remediation liabilities and is written in the context of operations taking place in the United States; however, the accounting guidance is applicable to all the operations of the reporting entity.

##### [410-30-15-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/410/30/#410-30-15-2)

Pending content: no

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z to 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z

Record version: sha256:7ef5f2b98ae3a0527c74205b4cce07157c86514cb50b00b7b76f7f55b7c56f49

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


The recognition and measurement guidance in this Subtopic should be applied on a site-by-site basis.

#### Transactions

##### [410-30-15-3](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/410/30/#410-30-15-3)

Pending content: no

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z to 2026-09-10T00:21:27.455Z

Record version: sha256:f8e8c6bfd27c048e37cb1e327ad0f289f24bded37bc45ec44c9c37dac2f45db0

Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f

Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps.


The guidance in this Subtopic does not apply to the following transactions and activities:

1.  a
    
    Environmental contamination incurred in the normal operation of a long-lived asset (see Subtopic 410-20 for guidance that will apply if the entity is legally obligated to treat the contamination). Paragraph [410-20-15-3(b)](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/410/20/#410-20-15-3) explains that the obligation to clean up the spillage resulting from the normal operation of the fuel storage facility is within the scope of Subtopic 410-20. Additionally, that Subtopic applies if a [legal obligation](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/l/#legal-obligation "An obligation that a party is required to settle as a result of an existing or enacted law, statute, ordinance, or written or oral contract or by legal construction of a contract under the doctrine of promissory estoppel.") to treat environmental contamination is incurred or assumed as a result of the acquisition, construction, or development of a long-lived asset.
    
2.  b
    
    Pollution control costs with respect to current operations or on accounting for costs of future site restoration or [closure](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/c/#closure "Related to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976: the process in which the owner-operator of a hazardous waste management unit discontinues active operation of the unit by treating, removing from the site, or disposing of on site all hazardous wastes in accordance with an Environmental Protection Agency or state-approved plan. Included, for example, are the process of emptying, cleaning, and removing or filling underground storage tanks and the capping of a landfill. Closure entails specific financial guarantees and technical tasks that are included in a closure plan and must be implemented.") that are required upon the cessation of operations or sale of facilities, as such current and future costs and obligations represent a class of accounting issues different from environmental remediation liabilities.
    
3.  c
    
    Environmental remediation actions that are undertaken at the sole discretion of management and that are not induced by the threat, by governments or other parties, of litigation or of assertion of a claim or an assessment.
    
4.  d
    
    Recognizing liabilities of insurance entities for unpaid claims.
    
5.  e
    
    Natural resource damages and toxic torts (see paragraphs
    
    [450-20-55-10 through 55-21](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/450/20/#450-20-55-10)
    
    ).
    
6.  f
    
    Asset impairment issues.