Since
then, the Fund has insured more than 4,700 UST sites and 13,000 tanks.
Coverage is provided for the costs of cleaning up a leak or spill,
as well as third-party property damage or bodily injury resulting
from spills or leaks. A $10,000 deductible applies to each incident,
with a policy limit of $1 million per incident and $2 million annual
aggregate.
In 1995,
the Missouri Legislature expanded the responsibilities of the Fund
to include cleanup of sites where USTs had been closed. The same bill
authorized PSTIF to pay ongoing costs of cleanup at insured sites
where a spill/leak had occurred before the owner was insured by PSTIF.
In 1996,
the program was again expanded to offer insurance coverage to certain
aboveground storage tank owners/operators, and to pay for cleanup
of properties where ASTs had previously operated. This same legislative
amendment established a Board of Trustees
to oversee the Fund, and renamed it the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance
Fund (PSTIF).
The Board
of Trustees established an Advisory
Committee to assist and advise the Board on Fund operations.
The Advisory Committee includes a variety of professionals from the
petroleum industry, insurance industry, environmental consulting and
contracting businesses, and environmental attorneys; also included
are representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and the
Department of Agriculture. The chairman is Mr. Steve Ayers, Ayers Oil Company.
The Fund
is financed primarily with a fee assessed on each load of petroleum
brought into Missouri. Annual fees are also charged for insurance
coverage. Total annual revenues were approximately $28 million in recent fiscal years. However, in July 2008 the Board of Trustees lowered the "transport load fee" from $40 per 8,000 gallons to $20 per 8,000 gallons, thereby reducing annual revenues.
The PSTIF Board currently contracts with a private company, Williams
& Company Consulting, Inc., to provide Third Party Administration
services. These services include receiving and processing applications
for insurance coverage, sending renewal notices, receiving and processing
claims, and other accounting and record keeping services.
Since
its inception, PSTIF has paid out more than $165 million in claims,
involving the cleanup of more than 2,000 properties. It continues
to be one of the largest insurers of tanks in the country, with nearly
3,200 policies in effect at any one time.
State
law specifies that the Fund will expire on December 31, 2020.
To contact the PSTIF, write to PO Box 104116, Jefferson City, MO, 65110, or call 1-800-765-2765.
Disclaimer:
This site has been prepared for the purpose of providing information
about the Missouri PSTIF. Nothing in this site would take precedence
over the rules or regulations that govern this fund.
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