As of
December 31, 1999, PSTIF had committed funds to 1,871 tank cleanup
projects. This includes 568 claims made by tank owners who have purchased
insurance coverage from the Fund, and 1,303 properties where tanks
were taken out of use by December 31, 1997. The latter category of
liabilities, often called “remedial claims,” involve cleanup of historic
contamination which occurred before the imposition of stricter operating
requirements on tank owners. (The Missouri General Assembly added
these liabilities with the passage of HB251 in 1995 and SB708 in 1996.)
Until now, any owner of property where tanks had been taken out of
use before the end of 1997 could approach the PSTIF at will and obtain
a funding commitment for cleanup. These commitments are made before
the tanks are removed, if underground tanks are still buried on the
property. Often, such projects arise as a result of real estate transactions.
Because the Fund’s revenues will no longer support unlimited and uncontrolled
commitments of this type, the Board of Trustees voted to make funding
commitments to such sites only after a cleanup is completed at an
existing project, and only if money is “left over” from current projects.
In its
action, the Trustees made it clear that the Fund will:
-
Continue
financing cleanup at those sites where a claim file was opened
prior to the Board action on March 29, and
-
Reserve
sufficient funds for projected new claims from policyholders.
These aspects of the Board’s decision must not be under-emphasized.
In some other states, inadequate cash flow planning by tank fund
managers has resulted in serious cash shortfalls, causing ongoing
cleanup projects to come to a halt. The PSTIF Board of Trustees
was adamant that this situation will not occur in Missouri.
In addition,
Trustees expressed strong commitment to providing a financially-secure
Fund for those tank operators who are relying on PSTIF for their insurance
coverage today. “We simply cannot tell a tank owner who has a leak,
and who has purchased insurance coverage from us, that there’s no
money to pay for his cleanup,” commented Chairman Bart Creech.
This
leaves only one area of flexibility - cleanup of old tank sites. In
its discussion, the Board recognized that most of these projects are
undertaken as part of a real estate development project, and rarely
involve an imminent environmental threat. However, the Board asked
its staff to build flexibility into its plans to allow for rapid response
to an environmental or safety emergency from one of these old tank
sites.
Aside
from emergencies, plans call for a “waiting list” of sites to be developed,
on a “first-come, first-served” basis. As monies become available
for additional projects, those property owners will be notified. In
addition, the Board asked its Advisory Committee to undertake a study
of this situation, analyze options, and present its recommendations
to the Board no later than November of this year.
The Fund’s
current balance sheet and income statement are available in Facts
& Finances or by calling 800-765-2765. PSTIF’s cash balance,
as of March 31, 2000, was $49,998,165.
Individual
property owners, or their environmental consultants, who have a question
about a particular property may call 800-765-2765 to confirm whether
the property is one for which a claim file was opened prior to the
Board action on March 29. Inquiries about the Board’s decision may
be directed to the Fund’s Executive Director at 573-522-2352.
Watch
future issues of Latest Leaks for more information as
it becomes available.
Latest
Leaks is a newsletter of the Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank
Insurance Fund.
Board
of Trustees
William
"Bart" Creech III, Chairman
Bob Abernathy, Vice Chairman
John Boehm
Sam Carter
Gary D. Collins
Neal A. Gibbons, Sr.
Ron Hooker
Robert "Bob" Jackson
Steve Mahfood
Don Shaikewitz
Katherine "Katie" Wesselschmidt
Executive
Director
Carol R. Eighmey
PO Box 836
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-522-2352
Third
Party Administrator
Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
1-800-765-2765
Send
address changes to:
PSTIF, PO Box 104116
Jefferson City, MO 65110
Back
to Top
