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Vice
Chairman Bob Abernathy called the meeting to order at 10:00
a.m. Chairman Creech arrived a short time later and chaired
the remainder of the meeting.
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| Trustees
Present: |
Absent: |
William "Bart" Creech III, Chairman
Bob Abernathy, Vice Chairman
James Ford
Robert Jackson
Don McNutt
Gary O'Neal
Dan Schuette (Designee for Steve Mahfood) |
Judy Baker
Neal Gibbons, Sr.
Ron Hooker
Joyce Murphy |
| Staff
Present: |
|
Carol
R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Terry M. Nichols, Administrative Assistant
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager
Mike DePaemelaere, Operations Manager
David Pate, Claims Manager |
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Claim
Appeal - Former Stevenson Conoco, Claim 40615
Morris Kay, Enviro-Co, and Ronald Stevenson presented the appeal.
Mr. Kay reviewed the history of the site, noting that a different
contractor removed underground tanks in 1997, and that some of the
costs associated with that project had not been recognized by the
Fund Administrator. He reported that a recent geoprobe near where
the soil had been removed in 1997 showed the presence of petroleum
contamination in soil above the site cleanup levels.
David
Pate, Williams & Company, explained that there had been no documentation
provided to document that the soil hauled away in 1997 was contaminated.
He said the recent geoprobe data provided by the owner was new information,
and distributed a spreadsheet, attached hereto, showing a suggested
approach if the Board wished to accept the geoprobe data as validation
that the work done in 1997 was necessary.
Trustees
asked some questions of both parties. It was clarified that additional
work would be required to complete the characterization of the remaining
contamination and determine a corrective action strategy.
Claim
Appeal - Claim 61043, Bob's Auto Sales
Darren Owen and Larry Gustafson, Commonwealth Construction, presented
the appeal. Mr. Owen reviewed the history of activities at the site,
noting the insured tank and an unregulated heating oil tank were removed
in 1999; additional work was done in 2000, including removal of uninsured,
out-of-use tanks; and more work was done in 2001, including soil excavation
and sampling.
Mr.
Owen stated that the PSTIF adjuster had been on site during much of
the work and never made mention that any of the costs might not be
eligible. Mr. Gustafson emphasized he had been trying to save money
for the PSTIF by not collecting soil samples when the waste oil tank
was removed, since he knew he would be returning to the site at a
later time to collect other samples.
There
was considerable discussion. Ms. Eighmey noted the presence of an
adjuster onsite is not a guarantee that all costs will be paid, and
reminded Mr. Gustafson and Mr. Owen that Fund participants sign a
non-waiver attesting to that fact. She explained the difference between
an "insurance claim," which must be made while the owner/operator
is insured, and a "remedial claim," which is more like a government
grant; it was pointed out that an eligible out-of-use tank site is
eligible to receive benefits any time, if it meets the criteria in
the law, but an insured tank site is not a permanent liability. She
noted no samples had been collected or analyzed with which to make
a claim for the insured tank, while it was insured, and thus, no notice
of claim for a release from that tank was provided while the owner
was insured. Ms. Eighmey noted Commonwealth Construction had handled
many claims for its clients over the years, and commended the company
representatives for never having had a claim appeal previously. She
and Mr. Gustafson agreed to have a meeting at a later time to make
sure he and his staff understand the PSTIF's claim procedures and
requirements.
Claim
Appeal - Former Shell, Claims 61027 & 52279
Chairman Creech directed the Trustees' attention to the material in
their notebooks, and noted the recommendation from the Executive Director.
There were no questions.
Approval
of Minutes
Bob Jackson moved that the minutes from the September 18, 2002 meeting
be approved. Jim Ford seconded the motion, which carried.
Monthly
Reports
There was a brief discussion about the monthly reports. Don McNutt
inquired what the reclassification of the PSTIF as an "enterprise
fund" meant; Ms. Eighmey responded that the Governmental Accounting
Standards Board (GASB) establishes categories for various government
operations, and suggested the auditor could provide a more complete
answer.
Advisory
Committee Report and Recommendation
Tom Kolb, Chairman of the Advisory Committee, reported that the Committee
had finalized and mailed the letter previously provided to the Board,
in which the Committee requests that no expenditures be made from
the PSTIF without Board approval. He presented a recommendation from
the Committee that the Board send a similar letter.
Bob Jackson
noted a lawsuit by several nursing homes had been recently decided,
and the court upheld the Governor's authority to redirect funds. Tim
Duggan clarified that the case involved general revenue funding, and
thus was not directly analogous to a special fee like the transport
load fee.
Carol
Eighmey reported that, as agreed at the last Board meeting, she had
met with Joyce Murphy and staff from OA's Division of Budget and Planning;
she said the meeting had not yielded any ideas for resolving the issue,
and that Ms. Murphy had suggested it would have to be resolved by
the Governor and/or his staff.
Jim Ford
moved that the Board send a letter to Governor Holden, expressing
its desire to review and approve all expenditures from the PSTIF.
Bob Jackson seconded. All Trustees present voted in favor except Dan
Schuette, who voted against the motion.
Don McNutt
noted that the Board had purposely increased the transport load fee
to pay for cleanups, not to pay for other government services, and
suggested that if the higher fee was going to be used for other purposes
it might be appropriate for the Board to reduce the fee.
Chairman
Creech asked Ms. Eighmey to draft a letter and circulate it to all
Trustees for review and comment, prior to finalizing it for his signature.
Risk-Based
Decision-Making
Carol Eighmey reported that the Stakeholders' Committee has continued
to meet and has drafted many parts of what will become a guidance
document and/or regulations for risk-based cleanups. She said the
consultant assisting the Committee will use the draft to "test drive"
the procedure on some real sites in Missouri, and that the Committee
expects to release a document summarizing its decisions in June/July
2003.
She also
reported that she had recently reached an agreement with Ed Galbraith
to defer additional expense at some sites where the only corrective
action is ongoing groundwater monitoring. She estimated this action
could save the PSTIF $2 million.
Fred
Hutson, DNR Tanks Section, distributed a checklist which will be used
to identify candidate sites for the deferral of action, and a letter
which will be sent from the Department to owners; both are attached
hereto. He noted the action would be taken only at sites where deferring
action will pose no threat to human health or the environment.
Ms. Eighmey
then reported that she had been asked whether PSTIF could assist in
paying the costs for the RBDM consultant to conduct pilot studies
on some PSTIF-eligible tank sites. She recommended that the Board
agree to do so via a subcontract with Williams & Company, noting its
contract allowed for such special projects. She noted that doing so
could result in Williams & Company exceeding their projected budget
for the year by $30,000-$35,000.
Chairman
Creech observed that the risk analysis to be done by the consultant
could result in savings on corrective action, and recommended the
expenditure, since the PSTIF is obligated to pay for work at these
sites anyway. Bob Jackson moved that the Board approve the additional
expenditure as an increase to the Williams & Company budget. Gary
O'Neal seconded, and the motion carried.
UMR
Research Report
Professor Craig Adams was not in attendance, due to the bad weather,
so the presentation was postponed.
Administrative
Issues
FY04 Budget - It was reported that the Board's appropriation
requests had been submitted to OA, but it was not yet known what the
Governor's recommendations would be.
FY01
and FY02 Audits - Ms. Eighmey reported the audits were not yet
complete.
Third-Party
Administration Contract - Ms. Eighmey recommended that the Board
renew its contract with Williams & Company for the final year of the
contract, 2003. She noted the contract will have to be rebid for future
years.
Dan
Schuette moved that the contract be renewed for the period 1/1/03
- 12/31/03. Bob Jackson seconded the motion, which carried.
Chairman
Creech appointed a committee of Trustees to work with the Executive
Director to draft a Request for Proposals for third-party administration
services: Jim Ford, Gary O'Neal, Don McNutt and Dan Schuette.
Dates
for 2003 Board Meetings - After discussion, Chairman Creech instructed
staff to book the dates as suggested.
Billings
- Chairman Creech asked if there were any questions about the bills
in the notebook; there were none.
Bob Jackson
moved that the Board go into closed session to discuss and vote on
matters related to legal actions, causes of action, litigation and/or
personnel issues pursuant to Section 610.021, RSMo. Bob Abernathy
seconded, and the motion carried.
If
such action is approved a majority vote of a quorum of the Board,
the Board of Trustees of the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund
may go into closed session at this meeting to discuss legal, confidential
or privileged matters pursuant to Section 610.021, RSMo.
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