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Chairman
Creech called the meeting to order at 8:40 a.m. Trustees present:
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| Trustees
Present: |
Absent: |
William "Bart" Creech III, Chairman
Bob Abernathy, Vice Chairman
Gary Collins
Ron Hooker
Robert Jackson
Don McNutt
Joyce Murphy
Dan Schuette (Designee for Steve Mahfood) |
Judy Baker
James Ford
Neal Gibbons, Sr. |
| Staff
Present: |
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Carol
R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Terry M. Nichols, Administrative Assistant |
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Chairman
Creech called the meeting to order at 8:40 a.m. Carol Eighmey announced
that the appeal involving Claim 60939 would not be heard today, as
the Department of Natural Resources had indicated that morning that
additional and pertinent information had recently come to its attention.
Claim
Appeal - Claims 60408, 60624, & 50495,
Mid-America Fuel Center
Eric Page, consultant for the owner, Gary Litzsinger, owner of C.C.
Dillon, and Gene Wagstaff, C.C. Dillon, were introduced. Mr. Page
reviewed the history of the site, including an explanation of the
three releases and actions taken in response. He then reviewed the
activities involving removal of the tanks and piping and excavation
and removal of pea gravel, soil and other materials, and presented
the owner's request for additional payment, as outlined in the letter
to the Board. He emphasized efforts he had made over the years to
minimize the Fund's costs and avoid unnecessary expenses.
Trustees
asked several questions, then heard an explanation from David Pate
concerning the basis for the payment decision. He noted laboratory
results of the material removed from the site had not demonstrated
that petroleum contamination existed in all of it at levels requiring
offsite disposal.
There
were additional questions from the Board concerning activities at
the site and the costs incurred. Mr. Page indicated he had been told
that the Department of Natural Resources might ask for additional
sampling at the site, due to concerns about remaining contamination.
Trustees questioned why the Department would not have specified all
required samples be taken while the property was torn up, instead
of waiting until the cleanup project was complete and the new store
built. Ed Galbraith responded his staff would review the file further
before making a determination. Ms. Eighmey noted that the question
of whether additional site characterization was necessary was not
relevant to the appeal under consideration. Chairman Creech acknowledged
that was correct, and asked Mr. Galbraith to keep the Board informed
on future actions involving the site.
Approval
of Minutes
Bob Jackson moved that the minutes from the May 22 meeting be approved.
Dan Schuette seconded the motion, which carried.
Monthly
Reports
Chairman Creech asked if there were any questions about the monthly
reports. Dan Schuette asked for an explanation of the negative figure
on the balance sheet for "Fund Equity." Ms. Eighmey explained that
represented the difference between assets and liabilities, including
current estimates for completing cleanup at all sites where a claim
has been filed. She noted the liabilities on the balance sheet do
not include reserves for future claims, and reminded the Trustees
that an actuary would be hired later this year to provide an independent
analysis of claim reserves.
Bob Jackson
asked when the report from the Department of Natural Resources for
June would be provided; Mr. Galbraith indicated it would be provide
by mid-August.
Report
from Advisory Committee
Tom Kolb, Chairman of the Advisory Committee, was introduced. He reported
the Advisory Committee had met on June 27; among other items, the
Committee discussed whether the transport load fee should be increased
again on January 1, 2003. He reminded Trustees the fee had increased
from $25 to $40 per 8,000 gallons on January 1, 2002, and presented
the Committee's recommendation that the fee not be increased for 2003.
Bob Abernathy
moved that the Board keep the fee at the current level for 2003; Gary
Collins seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion carried.
Mr.
Kolb then reviewed the Committee's discussions about taking money
from the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund to balance the state's
general revenue budget, and summarized the Committee's plans to send
a letter to the Governor. A preliminary draft was distributed for
the Trustees review. He indicated the Committee would be meeting again
in late September to make a final decision about the letter, but wanted
to give the Board opportunity to have input into the Committee's actions,
if desired. There were no objections to the Committee's plans.
Report
on Financial Responsibility Compliance
Tom Kolb then noted that as a result of discussions by the Committee
and the Board, a coordinated effort to assure that all UST sites have
a financial responsibility (FR) mechanism had been implemented. Ms.
Eighmey expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by staff
of Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, and
the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund, and distributed the list
of sites that the Committee had targeted, noting it is thought that
only about 140 sites have USTs in use and no FR mechanism.
There
was discussion among the Trustees about why some tank owners refuse
to comply and what actions should be taken. Ms. Eighmey encouraged
the Department to issue fines. Gary Collins suggested publicizing
the names of those not in compliance.
Mr. Kolb
then advised the Board the Advisory Committee has no representatives
of companies who sell and maintain equipment as members, and indicated
a specific name or names would be recommended soon.
FY03
Budget
Replacement pages for some of the FY03 budget information in the Board's
notebooks were distributed; copies are attached hereto. Ms. Eighmey
summarized all appropriations made by the Legislature from the Petroleum
Storage Tank Insurance Fund and presented anticipated revenues and
expenses for the coming twelve months. A question was raised about
why a Hancock refund will be paid in FY03, given the state's financial
condition. Joyce Murphy indicated a court case had been recently decided
which triggered the refunds, and said she would research the question
further.
Carol
Eighmey pointed out the new item in the budget for "Allocation of
State Services," and indicated she had questioned the Office of Administration
on how the Fund could be charged twice for the same services, such
as the services provided by the Department of Revenue.
Chairman
Creech asked if there was any way the Board could "freeze" the appropriation
for the miscellaneous state services; Ms. Eighmey said she knew of
no way to do that. Joyce Murphy noted the legislature had decided
which state funds to charge. Bob Jackson expressed his dissatisfaction
with the action. Gary Collins observed that someone might file litigation
to question the legality of the payments. Don McNutt expressed his
view that the Board should follow the Advisory Committee's lead and
send a letter to the Governor. Carol Eighmey suggested that the Office
of Administration has discretion on how the assessments are done and
asked if there was a way to formally appeal to the Office of Administration
for a different approach in future fiscal years.
Ron
Leone spoke from the audience, noting that language in the state law
governing the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund restricts use
of the money to the purposes outlined in the statute. He said that
even though the amount of money taken from the Petroleum Storage Tank
Insurance Fund was not nearly as large as originally proposed, the
cumulative effect over several years could be significant. Ms. Eighmey
promised to communicate further with the Office of Administration
about its plans for future fiscal years.
Discussion
returned to review of the budget for FY03. Ms. Eighmey reminded the
Trustees that the Fund had lost money for four straight fiscal years,
and noted there is a chance FY03 might be a "break-even" year. There
were no further questions about the FY03 budget.
DNR
Revised FY03 Work Plan
Chairman Creech called attention to the revised work plan recently
provided by the Department of Natural Resources. There were no questions.
Update
on RBCA
Ms. Eighmey reported the Stakeholders Committee working on a plan
for implementing RBCA is meeting every other week. She said an outside
consultant experienced in RBCA was working with the Committee, and
that partial results of his survey of other state RBCA programs had
been distributed. She said she hopes to see a more thorough plan and
timetable after the Committee meeting the following week.
Other
Business
The report on implementation of "tail coverage" for AST owners was
reviewed.
Ms. Eighmey
gave a brief report on her attendance at the Fund Administrators'
Conference in June.
She also
reported the city of St. Louis had recently been awarded an EPA grant
for cleanup of tank sites that are not eligible for benefits from
PSTIF.
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. Ron Hooker 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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