What
has been the effect of the decision? To date, PSTIF has received correspondence
on 150 old tank sites which are potentially eligible for PSTIF benefits,
but cannot receive an immediate commitment of funds. About half of
these are situations where a DNR inspector has observed underground
tanks that are out of use and has asked the property owner to remove
the tanks. Another 25% are situations where the owner initiates communications
by sending a closure notice to DNR. The others involve a variety of
cases, including real estate transactions where Environmental Assessments
have detected petroleum contamination on the property. Five of the
"claims on hold" involve aboveground tanks; the remainder involve
underground tanks.
Letters
have been sent to these property owners explaining the Fund's financial
situation. Currently, we are aware of about 10-12 sites where the
owner is planning to proceed with cleanup, even though he does not
know when PSTIF funds for his property will be available.
In addition,
since the end of March, 57 new claims have been filed by insured tank
owners. These claims are not "on hold"; PSTIF is financing cleanups
as needed at these sites.
Advisory
Committee Studying Options
At the
request of the Board of Trustees, the PSTIF Advisory Committee met
on May 18 to discuss the Fund's finances and begin evaluating options
for solving the problem. The Committee discussed the Fund's current
operations and asked questions about the costs of cleanup. There were
discussions with DNR representatives about the possibility of achieving
cost savings by taking more of a risk-based approach to cleanups.
The Committee
also asked for additional information on the number of properties
potentially eligible for PSTIF benefits. Another meeting is scheduled
for September 14 in Jefferson City.
The
Great Potato Head
Remember
the potato head toy?…. You start with an object vaguely resembling
a head, then stick odd-shaped pieces all over it…. And end up with
a very unique critter.
PSTIF
has had a similar experience recently, as we've assembled bits and
pieces of data and information from various places in an effort to
create a single database of properties that are potentially eligible
to receive money from the Fund. The list began with DNR's registered
UST database, then added sites where releases had been reported, sites
for which a HB251 or SB708 notification was received, sites DNR staff
identified, historic information from the PSTIF's own database, etc.
The end
result looks a bit like a potato head…. With three eyes, four ears
and two mouths. The goal has been to combine all records relating
to the same property into one record, but since the names and addresses
of commercial properties can change over time - and since people can
have varying recollections about how many tanks or what kind of tanks
operated on a particular property - the project has been an enormous
challenge.
The good
news is that we're finally close to the point where we can run some
queries and make more precise projections of the Fund's liabilities.
Stay tuned. Potato Head is coming!
MTBE
Approp and Inter-Agency Meetings
Last
spring, as the Missouri Senate was completing its budget work for
the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, an amendment was added to
the state budget in response to recent concern about MTBE. The amendment
gives the PSTIF Board of Trustees special authority to spend up to
$3 million from the Fund "for all costs incurred related to MTBE activities,
including, but not limited to, inspections for and cleanup of MTBE
contamination…"
Two meetings
have been held this summer with the Department of Natural Resources,
Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, and the Attorney
General's Office to review what the state's current capabilities and
resources are for preventing MTBE contamination and for responding
when an MTBE problem is discovered.
A report
on those meetings will be provided to the PSTIF Board of Trustees
in September. The Board also will hear a report on how much money
the Fund is spending to clean up sites where MTBE is a threat to drinking
water, and will receive proposals for any additional projects the
various agencies desire to undertake.
Information
on this aspect of PSTIF's work will be posted on its web page, www.pstif.org.
MTBE
Research Project
DNR's
Public Drinking Water Program and the University of Missouri-Rolla
have teamed up on a research project to evaluate the effectiveness
and costs of several water treatment technologies in removing MTBE
from drinking water.
Researchers
will conduct pilot tests to see how various water treatment methods
commonly in use by public water suppliers affect MTBE. The PSTIF staff
is monitoring the project, with particular interest in the cost data.
When MTBE is detected in a water supply, decisions must be made whether
to spend money providing a permanent, alternate water supply or installing
a treatment system to remove the contaminant. Kansas' tank fund has
financed several treatment systems, while other states' tank funds
have opted to spend available resources on an alternate water supply.
To date,
Missouri's PSTIF has financed new water supplies at two sites and
paid for treatment at one site.
DNR
Staff Know Who's In PSTIF
As part
of their routine inspections of active UST sites, DNR staff are making
a renewed effort to ensure that all operating USTs in the state have
a "financial responsibility mechanism". PSTIF has encouraged this
effort and some of the funding provided to DNR by PSTIF is being used
for these checks. The Board wants to make sure that if/when contamination
is found - whether it is MTBE or some other constituent of gasoline
or diesel fuel - money will be available to pay for cleanup and third
party damages.
Owners
of sites insured by PSTIF do not have to prove to DNR staff that they
have a "financial responsibility mechanism." PSTIF provides an updated
list of its insured sites to DNR every two weeks, which is loaded
into DNR's database and made available to staff conducting compliance
checks. This is part of an effort being made by DNR and PSTIF to share
information so that the paperwork burden on tank owners is reduced.
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
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