New remedial
claims received after December 31, 2001 will be place on hold until
at least September 2002, when the Board of Trustees again will review
the Fund's overall financial condition and projected liabilities.
Letters
are being mailed to all Fund beneficiaries whose claims have been
on hold, notifying them of this decision.
Fund
Finances
The
PSTIF ended 2001 with a cash balance of $38.6 million, down from a
high of $58 million in early 1999. The balance sheet showed $82 million
in liabilities - which are anticipated expenditures to complete cleanup
at sites where we have already received a claim and are in the process
of paying for cleanup.
In other
words, we're still very insolvent. The only reason our auditor and
the Board of Trustees are not overly concerned about this situation
is that, as an entity of state government, PSTIF has the authority
to guarantee its income by levying the transport load fee on petroleum.
However, this financial situation requires careful and conservative
management to avoid the kinds of situations other states have encountered,
where property owners embark on a cleanup, assuming the bills will
be paid by the state tank fund, only to find later that the money
is not there.
Recently,
the Board and its Advisory Committee have expressed concern about
a possible plan to take money out of special state funds like PSTIF
to cover a shortfall in the state's general revenue receipts. PSTIF
staff have notified budget planners of the Fund's tenuous financial
condition, and of the statutory limitations on use of the transport
load fee. As of this writing, no final decision has been made whether
to do this or not.
Deadline
for Submitting Invoices
For the
first time, the PSTIF Board of Trustees has imposed a deadline for
submission of invoices. A new regulation has been approved which requires
invoices to be sent to PSTIF within two years of the date the cleanup
is complete - i.e., the date DNR issues a "No Further Action" letter.
The regulation
will appear in the April 30 State Register, and will become effective
on May 30, 2002.
"Tail
Coverage"
Another
regulatory change approved by the Board will help aboveground storage
tank (AST) owners who insure their tanks with PSTIF, then take those
tanks out of service for a period of time.
In the
past, when that happened, the PSTIF policy could not be renewed after
the tanks were taken out of service. This meant that if an AST owner
took tanks out of service, let the property sit idle for a few months,
then sold it, he had no coverage for any pollution that existed at
the site.
With
this change, AST policyholders will be able to purchase "tail coverage,"
which allows them an extended period of time in which to make a claim.
Details will be developed in the coming weeks, and affected policyholders
will be individually notified.
Federal
$ For USTfields
In December,
Congress passed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act, and President Bush signed it on January 11, 2002.
Why should you care?
Because
the law authorizes $50 million per year in federal money to be spent
on cleanup of petroleum-contaminated sites, known as USTfields, a
cousin to Brownfields. Details, of course, remain to be implemented
by EPA. And whether Congress will actually appropriate this money
remains to be seen. But it's a start!
Progress
on RBCA
The Department
of Natural Resources' Tanks Section has announced its engagement of
Risk Assessment and Management (RAM) Group, Inc. to assist the department
in revising and updating the tanks remediation guidance documents.
The revision will include tiered, risk-based decision-making for tanks
sites. RAM Group has worked with several other states to accomplish
similar objectives, including Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico,
Alabama, Idaho, and the District of Columbia. A working group of interested
stakeholders is being formed to participate in the process. Interested
persons should contact Ed Galbraith at (573) 751-6822.
In addition,
the DNR published a proposed rule in the February 1 State Register
which will govern risk-based cleanups of any property in Missouri,
including tank sites, where groundwater is impacted. The rule may
be found at http://mosl.sos.state.mo.us/
moreg/moreg.htm. Comments are being accepted until April 2,
2002.
Streamlining
Cleanups - Consultants Take Note!
PSTIF
and DNR staff are working together to identify opportunities for streamlining
and accelerating the process of getting tank sites cleaned up and
"No Further Action" letters issued.
Several
opportunities have already been identified, but environmental consultants
are key to keeping a project moving. Here are some tips for consultants:
(a)
There is no need to get DNR's approval of a closure notice or a "workplan"
for a UST removal before obtaining PSTIF approval of costs; (submission
of a Closure Notice to DNR is required).
(b) There
is no need to obtain DNR approval for consulting services to prepare
a Corrective Action Plan; simply submit costs directly to PSTIF. (DNR
approval of the Plan itself is required).
(c) After
DNR concurs that a monitoring well can be closed, there is no need
to obtain DNR approval for a plan to abandon the well; simply obtain
PSTIF approval of costs and follow state regulations for well abandonment.
Other
ideas are still under discussion. Stay tuned!
Meet
Your Board
Latest
Leaks periodically highlights a member of the PSTIF Board of Trustees,
so you will know who these faithful public servants are that donate
so much time to making this program successful.
Bob Abernathy
has served as a trustee since the inception of the Board in April
1997, and currently serves as its vice-chairman. Bob is the owner
of Briggs and Tillman, Inc., a petroleum distributorship headquartered
in Clinton, Missouri. He has been active in the Missouri Association
of Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores and in various local
organizations in Clinton. Bob is married and has two children.
If you
know Bob, give him a hearty thanks for all the time and energy he
has donated on behalf of PSTIF's participants and beneficiaries for
the last five years!
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
Judith W. Baker
Gary D. Collins
James P. Ford
Neal A. Gibbons, Sr.
Ron Hooker
Robert "Bob" Jackson
Donald W. McNutt
Joyce Murphy
Dan Schuette
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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