| Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order.
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| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Don McNutt, Chairman
Jim Ford, Vice Chairman
John Albert
Tom Kolb
Tom Pfeiffer
Dan Schuette
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Henry Herschel
Gary O'Neal
Danny Opie
Melvin Schebaum
Bruce Work |
| Staff Present: |
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Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Diane Wallace, Executive Assistant
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Dan Atwill, Atwill & Montgomery
Bob Clarke, Operations Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Dan Henry, Claims Coordinator Supervisor, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Dorcee Lauen, Underwriting Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
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Others Present:
Doyle Childers, Director, Department of Natural Resources
Approval of Minutes– May 24, 2006 Meeting
Tom Kolb moved that the minutes from the May 24, 2006 Board meeting be approved as written. John Albert seconded. Motion carried.
Monthly Reports
and Decision on Funding New Remedial Claims
Chairman McNutt invited the Trustees to review the monthly reports.
Dan Schuette moved that the Board release funding for the four new remedial claims. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
FY07 Budget
Chairman McNutt asked Ms. Eighmey to review information in the Trustees' notebooks regarding the PSTIF FY07 Operating Budget.
Tom Pfeiffer made a motion to approve the proposed PSTIF Operating Budget for FY07. Tom Kolb seconded. Discussion followed, during which Jim Ford inquired whether the Board should expect revenues from the transport load fee to decrease in FY07, since higher retail fuel prices will likely depress demand. Others agreed and estimated there could be as much as a 5% reduction. Dan Schuette asked if the 4% COLA accounted for the increase in budgeted expenses for DNR; Ms. Eighmey replied yes and asked Mr. Schuette to check the figure, as she is uncertain what portion of the total PSTIF monies for DNR the Department intends to use for personal service. Mr. Schuette indicated the Department is contemplating some changes to its EER budget that may impact how it spends PSTIF funds. Tom Pfeiffer inquired about the budget for training and loss prevention services; Ms. Eighmey commented that some of the activities planned for FY06 had not been accomplished, so not all the budgeted amount had been spent. After a few other items were clarified, Mr. Pfeiffer and Mr. Kolb amended their motion to reflect a 5% reduction in transport load fee revenues. The amended motion carried.
Presentation by Department of Revenue
Chairman McNutt introduced Keith Gast and Julie Allen from the Department of Revenue, who made a presentation on how the transport load fee is collected; (copy attached). Discussion followed, during which time the Trustees' questions about whether the fee is paid on alternative fuels were addressed. The Board expressed interest in receiving some type of monthly report from the Department of Revenue that would indicate either the number of gallons of, or amount of fee paid on, various types of fuels. Ms. Eighmey said she would follow up with Mr. Gast to see what can be provided.
Report on FY06 Inspections
Chairman McNutt introduced Pat Rounds and Brian Wiegert from Rounds & Associates to report on the inspections done during FY06, which was the final year of their contract. Mr. Rounds summarized the purpose and approach used during inspections, noting that the inspectors make all observations necessary for a compliance inspection, plus they check other things. Mr. Wiegert then summarized their findings and documented them with photographs from FY06 inspections. Dan Schuette asked for clarification of the difference between major and minor deficiencies; Mr. Wiegert explained and gave examples. Doyle Childers asked if the UST provisions in the recently enacted federal Energy Act would add any requirements or change the approach used by Rounds. Mr. Rounds responded that it would not, as the scope of the inspections was already broader than required by federal regulations and the only change made by the new federal law is that an inspection frequency is now specified.
Proposed Amendments to PSTIF Regulations - Advisory Committee Recommendation
Chairman McNutt reviewed the proposed changes to the PSTIF regulations and noted they had been under discussion for several months by the Advisory Committee. Jim Ford moved that the Board publish the proposed amendments in the State Register for public review and comment. Tom Pfeiffer seconded. Dan Schuette asked if a regulatory impact report, (RIR), was required; Ms. Eighmey responded that she and Tim Duggan had concluded it is not, and reminded Dan that the sponsor of the bill creating the RIR requirement was on record stating that rules issued by the PSTIF Board regarding operation of the Fund were not subject to the RIR requirement. Mr. Schuette also asked for an explanation of the provision regarding the Board's authority to require a Tier 2 or Tier 3 Risk Assessment; Ms. Eighmey explained that this issue had been thoroughly discussed during RBCA Stakeholders' Committee meetings, and that the provision simply codifies current practices, as recommended by Mr. Duggan. She mentioned a previous memorandum from Mr. Duggan to the Board and offered to send another copy to Mr. Schuette. Mr. Schuette then asked whether notice of the proposed rule amendments had been sent to the Department of Agriculture, Department of Conservation and Department of Economic Development, as required in an Executive Order issued by Governor Blunt. Ms. Eighmey replied that she was unfamiliar with such an Executive Order and asked Mr. Schuette to provide a copy. She suggested that the Board act on the motion, with the understanding that she would follow any procedures required by Governor Blunt and might delay filing of the rules with the Secretary of State for thirty days.
Mr. Schuette indicated he was not comfortable voting on the motion, as he had not thoroughly reviewed the proposed amendments. Mr. Pfeiffer said he had reviewed them and was prepared to vote; John Albert concurred and noted that there had been considerable review and discussion of the proposal by the Advisory Committee. Chairman McNutt called for a vote. The motion carried 5-1 with Dan Schuette casting the vote in opposition.
Administrative Issues
Appointment to Advisory Committee – Tom Kolb made a motion to appoint Scott Leonard of CarterEnergy Corporation to the PSTIF Advisory Committee to replace Doug Beach of CarterEnergy Corporation, who retired this year. Tom Pfeiffer seconded. Motion carried.
Schedule for FY08 Budget Requests – Chairman McNutt reminded the other Trustees that FY08 budget requests would be reviewed at the next Board meeting. He asked Dan Schuette to send the DNR's request to the Executive Director by September 1 so there would be time for review and clarification, if needed, before the September Board meeting. Mr. Schuette agreed.
Requests for Proposals (RFPs) – Ms. Eighmey alerted the Trustees that a short closed session conference call will be scheduled in late August or early September to approve hiring an auditor, after she completes her review of the responses to the RFP.
She noted that responses to the RFP for inspections are due by August 16. Chairman McNutt appointed John Albert and Tom Pfeiffer to serve with the Executive Director to evaluate the responses and prepare a recommendation for the full Board.
Report on State Fund Administrators' Conference – Ms. Eighmey reported on the conference, noting that two representatives from DNR Tanks Section and two Williams' employees had also attended.
Next Board Meeting – Chairman McNutt announced that the next meeting of the Board of Trustees would be in Room 470 of the Governor Office Building in downtown Jefferson City on September 27.
Billings – Chairman McNutt called the Trustees' attention to the recent bills in their notebooks.
Jim Ford 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. Dan Schuette seconded. Motion carried.
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