At its
meeting on December 4, the Board was told that the guidance document
directing consultants how to conduct risk assessments in Missouri,
and what types of information and reports to file with DNR, will likely
be finished in late spring 2003. Revisions to tank regulations will
soon follow.
Training
sessions for consultants, DNR and PSTIF staff and others are being
planned for spring/summer. This means that by summer, tank site owners
will need to assure that persons they hire to do cleanups are adequately
informed and trained in the new procedures.
Groundwater
Monitoring Deferred at Some Sites
There
are several hundred properties where PSTIF has been paying a consultant
to collect samples from monitoring wells 2-4 times each year to determine
whether the contaminants have attenuated to the groundwater cleanup
standard for tank sites. Because it is likely that the new RBDM procedures
will provide other alternatives for many of these sites, PSTIF and
DNR have agreed to postpone additional groundwater monitoring at some
sites for a few months, until the RBDM guidance is finished. Anticipated
savings for PSTIF is about $2 million.
Individual
site owners whose consultants have proposed continued groundwater
monitoring may receive a letter from DNR explaining that the additional
monitoring activities can be deferred. In addition, PSTIF will be
sending similar letters, stating that costs for additional monitoring
will not be recognized. Once the RBDM guidance is available, additional
consulting costs will be pre-approved by PSTIF.
Actuarial
Study
The
Board of Trustees engaged an actuarial firm in early October to provide
an independent analysis of claim reserves and projected claim costs.
This report will be received by the Board in early 2003.
AST
Insurance
More
and more owners of aboveground storage tanks are taking advantage
of the opportunity to buy pollution liability insurance from the PSTIF.
Twenty-three percent of eligible AST sites in Missouri are now insured
by the PSTIF, a total of 488 properties.
In addition,
fourteen AST policyholders have purchased "tail coverage." This is
the PSTIF's new program which allows insured AST owners to purchase
an "extended reporting period" to maintain their liability protection
after selling the insured location or taking tanks out of service.
A reminder
for all AST owners - State regulations require that all riveted tanks
are to be removed from service by January 1, 2004. PSTIF will no longer
insure riveted tanks after that date.
UMR
MTBE Research
A research
project partially funded by the PSTIF to evaluate the effectiveness
of various water treatment methods in removing MTBE, a gasoline additive,
from drinking water recently has been completed. It was conducted
by the University of Missouri-Rolla, with funding from both the PSTIF
and DNR's Public Drinking Water Program.
Dr. Craig
Adams, Director of UMR's Environmental Research Center, designed and
managed the research project, and presented findings at a recent groundwater
conference.
PSTIF's
financial support for the project allowed researchers to test treatment
methodologies on water from some actual tank sites in Missouri, where
the PSTIF is paying for cleanup. The research will allow cost-effective
decisions to be made regarding water treatment options when MTBE contamination
is present.
RG/PE
Confusion Eliminated
The Boards
of Registration for Professional Engineers and Geologists have reached
a written understanding about the areas of practice of licensed professionals
governed by the two boards. It clarifies that though there are overlapping
areas of practice, professional engineers are not governed by the
Geologist Registration Act.
The PSTIF
has refused to pay extra costs for a registered geologist to review
and add his/her seal to work done by a professional engineer, on the
basis that a geologist's seal was not required by state law. This
recent development affirms the PSTIF's position.
SPCC
Rule Delayed
The US
EPA has announced a formal delay of the compliance date for its recently-revised
rule on Spill Prevention, Control and Counter-Measure (SPCC) Plans.
EPA officials acknowledged there are many problems with the rule,
published in July 2002, and has said it will postpone the compliance
date at least a year.
Underground
tanks that are in compliance with state/federal environmental regulations
are exempt from the requirement to have a SPCC Plan. Owners of aboveground
tanks with a capacity of 1320 gallons or more are required to have
a SPCC Plan, but for the time being, the old SPCC rule will still
apply.
Meet
Your Trustees
One
of the ironies of government work is that state agencies always want
to know how their decisions affect small businesses, but small business
owners have trouble finding time to participate in government decision-making!
Luckily, Neal Gibbons, Sr. has managed to find the time, and PSTIF
is certainly the better for it.
Mr.
Gibbons fills the seat on the PSTIF Board of Trustees reserved for
"an owner of fewer than 100 tanks," and has capably represented the
small business owners who are affected by PSTIF operations since the
Board's inception in 1997. Making his dedication even more amazing
is that he travels from Kennett, in southeast Missouri, for PSTIF
Board meetings in Jefferson City.
Neal
learned about business early in life, working in his family's grocery
store as a young man, then managing several farm supply stores. In
the early 1970's, Neal became owner of Dalton Petroleum, a petroleum
marketer which has served parts of five states. His experience and
proven accomplishments in managing a successful business while keeping
up with multiple sets of government requirements has made him an invaluable
member of the PSTIF Board. If you know Neal, be sure to thank him
for his work on behalf of tank owners and small businesses across
Missouri!
Environmental
Info For Your Town
A new
web tool from the US EPA provides a snapshot of all facilities in
a particular city or zip code that have discharges regulated under
the Clean Water Act or Clean Air Act, or that generate or handle hazardous
waste regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Called "ECHO" for Enforcement and Compliance History Online, it can
be viewed at www.epa.gov/echo.
Petroleum
tank sites are not included on ECHO, but a list of registered underground
tank sites can be downloaded from www.dnr.state.mo.us/alpd/hwp/tanks.htm.
A list of all tank sites reported to the state by 12/31/97 can be
viewed at www.pstif.org
Web
Help
Don't
forget… Our web site, www.pstif.org,
contains a lot of helpful information, including the list of known
tank sites, as of June 2000. Use it early and use it often!
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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