| Chairman Abernathy called the meeting to order. |
| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Robert L. Abernathy, Outgoing Chairman
Don McNutt, New Chairman
John Albert
Tom Kolb
Danny Opie
Tom Pfeiffer
Dan Schuette (Designee for Steve Mahfood) |
James Ford, New Vice Chairman
Joyce Murphy
Gary O'Neal |
| Staff Present: |
|
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Diane Wallace, Executive Assistant
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager
Ray Lentz, Operations Manager
Dave Pate, Claims Manager
Dorcee Lauen, Underwriting Manager |
| Carol Eighmey and Dan Schuette gave the Board some background information on the newly appointed Director for the Department of Natural Resources, Doyle Childers. |
Approval
of Minutes
Dan Schuette moved that the minutes from the December 1, 2004 Board meeting be approved. Danny Opie seconded. Motion carried.
Election of Chairman/Vice-Chairman
Tom Kolb nominated Don McNutt to serve as the new Chairman and Jim Ford as the new Vice-Chairman. John Albert seconded. Motion carried.
Chairman Don McNutt presented a plaque to outgoing Chairman, Bob Abernathy, and thanked him for his service as Trustee since 1997 and Board Chairman since 2003.
Monthly Reports
Chairman McNutt invited Trustees to review the monthly reports. Dan Schuette moved that the Board release funding for three new remedial claims. Bob Abernathy seconded. Motion carried.
Tom Pfeiffer thanked the Department of Natural Resources for providing the report on compliance with FR requirements, and noted he would like to see details about those owners/operators who are not in compliance like the dates of various actions taken to compel compliance. Kathy Flippin, DNR Hazardous Waste Program Enforcement Section Chief, responded that her staff is working to provide this type of information, but that they have encountered some challenges due to the manner in which certain records were kept in the past. Trustees asked DNR staff several questions, and emphasized their desire that all UST owners/operators be subject to the same requirements so that those few who do not voluntarily comply do not have a competitive advantage over those who do. Dan Schuette noted the Department agrees, we seek an appropriate balance to make sure all facilities are treated fairly and have an opportunity to correct noted problems.
Chairman McNutt asked that the Department try to provide the type of report Tom Pfeiffer had described for the Trustees' next meeting.
Update on RBCA**
Chairman McNutt invited John Balkenbush, DNR Tanks Section Chief, to report on the Department's implementation of RBCA. Mr. Balkenbush distributed a report, attached hereto**, which he reviewed with the Board.
Bob Abernathy asked if he had any comments on the items mentioned in the Trustees' notebooks as tasks yet to be done. Mr. Balkenbush discussed several of the items, and Ms. Eighmey noted that three or four of the unfinished tasks likely will require policy decisions from DNR management. She and Mr. Balkenbush agreed that the pace at which “No Further Action Letters” are being issued is picking up, which is good. Ms. Eighmey briefly discussed the difficulty being encountered at some sites where the cleanup is complete and a NFA is issued, but when subsequent construction activities are undertaken and dirt with low levels of contamination is excavated, DNR's Solid Waste Program may require that the dirt be taken to a sanitary landfill, which involves extra expense for tipping fees. She noted discussions are underway to try and resolve this issue.
Report on Inspections - DNR
Dan Schuette introduced Bruce Martin and Ed Bethel from DNR's Springfield Regional Office. Mr. Martin gave a presentation with slides showing examples of what DNR's inspectors find at UST sites; copies of the presentation were distributed to trustees, and a copy is on file at the PSTIF office.**
Kathy Flippin then described changes that have been made in the Department's inspection procedures to implement the agreement entered into with the Board in May 2004. She distributed a report, which is attached hereto. She reported that efforts are underway to streamline inspection procedures, with more time being spent on real problems and less on paperwork, and noted the inspection checklist is now a one-page “tear-off” sheet that is quicker to fill out and can be given to the tank owner at the time of the inspection.
John Albert offered to assist the Department in getting keys for dispenser cabinets, so that their inspectors can look beneath the dispensers during all inspections. Ms. Flippin said DNR's inspectors now have a complete set of keys, and noted the Inspection Procedures contained in the Trustees' notebooks had been revised recently to reflect that. Ms. Flippin reported that the Department is having difficulty retaining its inspectors, in part because of the uncertainty of future funding, and emphasized that the Department wants to have an effective partnership with the Board.
Ms. Flippin noted that the Agreement with the Board specifies that the Department will give owners/operators 30 days to correct things noted during the inspection; she suggested 45 days was a more appropriate length of time. Chairman McNutt suggested that suggested revisions to the Agreement be discussed with the Executive Director before being presented to the Board at a future meeting.
DNR FY06 Budget Request and Work Plan
Chairman McNutt indicated the Budget Committee had decided to defer action on the Department's budget request, since a new DNR Director has recently been named and no budget recommendations have yet been presented by the Governor.
Review and Approve Revised UST Participation Agreement
Carol Eighmey said some questions had recently arisen about coverage issues, and she recommended that the Board defer action on the proposed revision until these additional issues can be discussed by the Advisory Committee. There being no objections, Chairman McNutt postponed action on the revised agreement until the March 23, 2005 Board meeting.
Administrative
Issues
Advisory Committee -- Dan Schuette moved that the following individuals be appointed to the Board's Advisory Committee:
Doug Beach, CarterEnergy Corporation
Dale Cira, AIG Environmental
Paul Cox, Cox Oil Company
Harry Gallagher, Gallagher Consultants
Steven Gile, Sinclair Oil Company
Doug Henderson, Henderson Oil Company
Doug Hurt, Neumayer Equipment
Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Legislative Report -- Carol Eighmey reported that no bills had been filed to date that directly affect the Fund.
Funding Request -- Carol Eighmey discussed the proposal received from Thomas Schruben to compile information on piping products available today, to conduct certain tests those products, and to publish the results of the tests. She noted that Mr Schruben serves on the committee that is rewriting the Underwriters Laboratory Standard, UL 971, for plastic piping.
Some trustees suggested others might be interested in funding the work, including the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association. After discussion, no motion was made to approve funding for this proposal.
Billings -- Chairman McNutt called the Trustees' attention to the recent bills in their notebooks.
Travel Authorization -- Ms. Eighmey asked the Board to authorize her out-of-state travel to attend the National UST/LUST Conference in Seattle in March. She noted that because of her participation on a national committee, her travel expenses would likely be paid by the EPA, but in case they were not fully reimbursed, approval by the Board was requested. Bob Abernathy moved that the Board approve Ms. Eighmey's out-of-state travel; Tom Kolb seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Report on Claim 70200
Ray Lentz gave a presentation on this recent claim involving a serious fire at an insured AST site, and showed video footage. He noted that local fire officials, DNR, Department of Agriculture and the PSTIF all responded, and that the PSTIF would likely incur costs under its policy.
Bob Abernathy 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. Danny Opie seconded. 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.
**For a copy of either of the presentations mentioned in these minutes, please contact the PSTIF Office. Please note, if presentation(s) are in electronic format, they will be sent to you as an email attachment per your request. However, as some presentations may be in hard copy only, please provide your mailing address at the time of your email request.
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