Please answer the given financial question based on the context.
Context: approximately $ 32 million of federal tax payments were deferred and paid in 2009 as a result of the allied acquisition . the following table summarizes the activity in our gross unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended december 31: .
||2010|2009|2008|
|balance at beginning of year|$ 242.2|$ 611.9|$ 23.2|
|additions due to the allied acquisition|-|13.3|582.9|
|additions based on tax positions related to current year|2.8|3.9|10.6|
|reductions for tax positions related to the current year|-|-|-5.1 ( 5.1 )|
|additions for tax positions of prior years|7.5|5.6|2.0|
|reductions for tax positions of prior years|-7.4 ( 7.4 )|-24.1 ( 24.1 )|-1.3 ( 1.3 )|
|reductions for tax positions resulting from lapse of statute of limitations|-10.4 ( 10.4 )|-0.5 ( 0.5 )|-0.4 ( 0.4 )|
|settlements|-11.9 ( 11.9 )|-367.9 ( 367.9 )|-|
|balance at end of year|$ 222.8|$ 242.2|$ 611.9|
new accounting guidance for business combinations became effective for our 2009 financial statements . this new guidance changed the treatment of acquired uncertain tax liabilities . under previous guidance , changes in acquired uncertain tax liabilities were recognized through goodwill . under the new guidance , subsequent changes in acquired unrecognized tax liabilities are recognized through the income tax provision . as of december 31 , 2010 , $ 206.5 million of the $ 222.8 million of unrecognized tax benefits related to tax positions taken by allied prior to the 2008 acquisition . included in the balance at december 31 , 2010 and 2009 are approximately $ 209.1 million and $ 217.6 million of unrecognized tax benefits ( net of the federal benefit on state issues ) that , if recognized , would affect the effective income tax rate in future periods . during 2010 , the irs concluded its examination of our 2005 and 2007 tax years . the conclusion of this examination reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $ 1.9 million . we also resolved various state matters during 2010 that , in the aggregate , reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $ 10.0 million . during 2009 , we settled our outstanding tax dispute related to allied 2019s risk management companies ( see 2013 risk management companies ) with both the department of justice ( doj ) and the internal revenue service ( irs ) . this settlement reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $ 299.6 million . during 2009 , we also settled with the irs , through an accounting method change , our outstanding tax dispute related to intercompany insurance premiums paid to allied 2019s captive insurance company . this settlement reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $ 62.6 million . in addition to these federal matters , we also resolved various state matters that , in the aggregate , reduced our gross unrecognized tax benefits during 2009 by approximately $ 5.8 million . we recognize interest and penalties as incurred within the provision for income taxes in our consolidated statements of income . related to the unrecognized tax benefits previously noted , we accrued interest of $ 19.2 million during 2010 and , in total as of december 31 , 2010 , have recognized a liability for penalties of $ 1.2 million and interest of $ 99.9 million . during 2009 , we accrued interest of $ 24.5 million and , in total at december 31 , 2009 , had recognized a liability for penalties of $ 1.5 million and interest of $ 92.3 million . during 2008 , we accrued penalties of $ 0.2 million and interest of $ 5.2 million and , in total at december 31 , 2008 , had recognized a liability for penalties of $ 88.1 million and interest of $ 180.0 million . republic services , inc . notes to consolidated financial statements , continued .
Question: what was the percent of the decline in the gross unrecognized tax benefits from 2009 to 2010


Answer: The answer is:-0.0801