Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order and introduced Schuyler Mariea as the new financial institution representative on the Board, replacing Gary O’Neal. He also announced that Bruce Work was reappointed by Governor Blunt to another four-year term. |
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| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Don McNutt, Chairman
John Albert
Rich AuBuchon
Tom Kolb
Ski Mariea
Danny Opie
Tom Pfeiffer
Melvin Schebaum
Bruce Work (arrived after meeting started)
|
Jim Ford, Vice Chairman
Dan Schuette
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| Staff Present: |
|
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Diane Wallace, Executive Assistant
Dan Atwill, atwill & Montgomery
Shelly Woods (for Tim Duggan), Attorney General's Office
Bob Clarke, Operations Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Dan Henry, Claims Coordinator Supervisor, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc |
| Others Present: |
Kathy Flippin, MDNR, Hazardous Waste Program,
Compliance/Enforcement Section
Harry Gallagher, Gallagher Consultants
Bill Gotfredson, Monaco, Sanders, Gotfredson, Racine & Barber
Ron Leone, Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association
Kerry Kaullen, Department of Agriculture, Division of Weights and Measures
Ken Koon, MDNR, Tanks Section Chief
Mike Martin, MDNR, Division of Environmental Quality
Earl Pabst, MDNR, Division of Environmental Quality
David Pate, Midwest Environmental Consultants
Norb Plassmeyer, Gallagher Consultants |
Claim Appeal – Westhoff Property, Claim 80361
Chairman McNutt announced that this appeal would be postponed due to the claimant’s unavailability for this meeting date.
Approval of Minutes – May 23, 2007 Meeting
Tom Kolb moved that the minutes from the May 23, 2007 Board meeting be approved. Rich AuBuchon seconded. Motion carried.
Monthly Reports and Decision on Funding New Remedial Claims
Chairman McNutt invited questions or comments from the Trustees on the monthly reports.
Tom Pfeiffer moved that the Board approve funding for the nine new remedial claims. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
FY08 Budget
Chairman McNutt asked Ms. Eighmey to review the budget recommended for use on the Board’s income statements for FY08; Ms. Eighmey briefly explained it. Tom Kolb moved that the Board approve the FY08 budget as written. Danny Opie seconded. Tom Pfeiffer asked why there was more budgeted for training and loss prevention services than was spent in FY07; Ms. Eighmey responded that the recommended budget for FY08 is actually less than for FY07, but that some of the activities envisioned for FY07 did not get done. Tom Kolb noted the budget for inspections is quite precise, and noted the actual cost may be slightly more or less, depending on the final number of inspections done. After discussion, the motion carried.
DNR Budget and Work Plan for FY08
Chairman McNutt introduced Earl Pabst and Ken Koon from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to discuss the DNR’s plans for FY08 tanks work. Mr. Koon began by distributing a summary of tanks work done in FY07; copy attached hereto and made a part hereof.** He noted that 40-50 new UST systems were installed, and that the compliance rate among UST owners/ operators is about 95%. Tom Kolb asked how Missouri’s compliance rate compares with other states; Ken said many states do not even know whether UST owners/operators are in compliance or not. Ski Mariea asked what other funding sources are used by the DNR for tanks work, besides the PSTIF monies. Mr. Koon responded that, in addition to the money provided by the PSTIF Board, the Department has two sources of federal money and a state fund financed by a registration fee it collects from UST owners/operators.
(Bruce work arrived at meeting during Mr. Koon’s remarks.)
Earl Pabst then discussed plans for FY08, noting that the state legislature had appropriated “General Revenue” for the DNR to operate its Environmental Emergency Response Program, (EER). He explained that, consequently, of the $1.1 million provided by the PSTIF, about $314,000 used for
EER in FY07 will be available in FY08 for other tanks-related work. He indicated plans are to use some of that money to enhance the UST database to allow better reporting to EPA, as required by the Federal Energy Act of 2005. He indicated approximately $70,000 of the PSTIF funds would likely be used to pay for contract inspections of non-PSTIF-insured sites, as previously discussed with the Board. In addition, he said DNR anticipates using some of the PSTIF money to pay its employees to inspect new UST installations. He promised to provide a written plan to the Board for FY08 once it is in final form.
Carol Eighmey clarified that the Department has authority to regulate underground tanks that contain hazardous substances, like solvents, but that monies from the PSTIF cannot be used for these activities. Earl concurred, noting there are far fewer hazardous substance tanks than petroleum USTs, and said that some of the Department’s federal money can likely be used for those activities. Ms. Eighmey also inquired whether the Department’s application for FY07 federal LUST Trust funds had yet been submitted to EPA, noting the EPA Regional Office in Kansas City had said the funds were available in June. Mr. Pabst indicated the Department would be sending its application to EPA soon, and reconfirmed that a final written FY08 work plan would be provided to the PSTIF Board of Trustees in August.
Report - EPA Oversight of FR and State Tank Funds
Chairman McNutt directed Trustees’ attention to the information in their notebooks about state tank funds. Ms. Eighmey then gave a presentation, reviewing the history of tank funds as “FR mechanisms,” and of EPA’s ongoing efforts to monitor their solvency and sufficiency as FR mechanisms. She emphasized that the support from the petroleum industry, legislators, and a succession of governors has enabled Missouri’s fund to avoid many of the problems encountered by other states.
Report on Cleanups and Claims
Bob Clarke was introduced and briefly explained his background and experience. He shared some observations with the Board about claims and cleanups, noting he had implemented some procedural changes aimed at reducing the number of small payments being made and expediting claim settlement. He reported he has asked Ken Koon, MDNR Tanks Section Chief, to meet with him on a monthly basis to discuss ways to improve and expedite cleanups. He also reported he and Pat Vuchetich have met with several environmental consultants who do tank site cleanups, and they are receptive to discussions on how to improve the cleanup and reimbursement processes. He emphasized that a cooperative working relationship between the DNR and the PSTIF is crucial to an efficient and cost-effective reimbursement program.
Tom Pfeiffer asked why the number of cleanups completed each year seems to be decreasing. Various PSTIF and DNR staff offered ideas on why that is occurring. Ms. Eighmey indicated there are some unresolved issues regarding DNR’s risk-based corrective action requirements, and that she and Bob Clarke have a meeting scheduled in August with Mr. Koon and his supervisor, Bob Geller, to discuss these issues.
Inspections
Report – FY07 – Chairman McNutt asked Trustees if there were any questions on the report provided in their notebooks by Rounds & Associates. There were none.
Plans for FY08 – Ms. Eighmey reported that implementation of the PSTIF/DNR/Rounds contract for FY08 is going well and that many details have been worked out. She noted inspections will be restarted soon.
Administrative Issues
FY07 Audit Contract Renewal – Tom Kolb moved to engage Graves and Associates, CPA’s, to conduct the FY07 audit at a cost not to exceed $21,000. Rich AuBuchon seconded. Motion carried.
PEI Training Course Usage – Chairman McNutt noted there were 46 courses of the original 500 purchased by the Board that had not been used. He asked Trustees whether to leave the courses available on the PSTIF’s web site until they are “used up,” or ask for a refund from PEI, as allowed under the contract with PEI. The consensus was to leave the courses on the Internet.
Update – FR for Equipment Companies – Chairman McNutt asked Trustees if they had any questions on this new initiative. There were none. Ms. Eighmey noted implementation is going smoothly and Kerry Kaullen, Division of Weights and Measures, agreed that was the case.
STI/SPFA Summer Meeting, July 27-31, 2007 – Tom Kolb moved to approve Ms. Eighmey’s out-of-state travel for this meeting. John Albert seconded. Motion carried.
Billings – Chairman McNutt noted the list of bills in the Trustee’s notebooks and invited them to review any of the invoices they wished.
Tom Kolb 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. Tom Pfeiffer seconded. Motion carried.
**For a copy of the information/presentation mentioned in these minutes, please contact the PSTIF Office. Please note, if the information/presentation is in electronic format, it will be sent to you as an email attachment per your request. However, as some information may be in hard copy only, please provide your mailing address at the time of your email request.
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