| Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order. |
|
| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Don McNutt, Chairman
James Ford, Vice Chairman
John Albert
Rich AuBuchon
Tom Kolb
Danny Opie
Tom Pfeiffer
Melvin Schebaum
Dan Schuette
|
Gary O'Neal
Bruce Work |
| Staff Present: |
|
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Diane Wallace, Executive Assistant
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Bob Clarke, Operations Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
H. Patrick Eriksen, Managing Partner, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Dan Henry, Claims Coordinator Supervisor, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc |
| Others Present: |
Doyle Childers, Director, Department of Natural Resources
Kathy Flippin, Department of Natural Resources
Gerry Garibay, Environmental Remediation, El Paso Corp., Colorado Springs, CO
Tristan Grover, Program Manager, URS Corp., Urbandale, IA
Kerry Kaullen, Division of Weights and Measures, Department of Agriculture
Brian Kellmann, Environmental Remediation, El Paso Corp., Colorado Springs, CO
Ken Koon, MDNR, Tanks Section Chief
Rob Kravitz, Midwest Environmental Consultants
Ron Leone, Executive Director, MPCA
Mike Martin, Department of Natural Resources
Dan Massey, Attorney General's Office
Robin Melton, President, Environmental Works, Inc.
David Pate, Midwest Environmental Consultants
Peter Price, MDNR, Division of Geology and Land Survey |
Claim Appeal – Former Coastal Mart, Claim 50002
Tristan Grover, URS Corporation, was introduced to the Board to present the appeal for Coastal Mart. Brian Kellmann and Gerry Garibay, both from El Paso Corporation, also attended on behalf of Coastal Mart. Mr. Grover summarized the history of the site, identifying the various owners and operators over time and Coastal Mart's recent efforts to complete cleanup of the site. He thanked the Board for agreeing to hear Coastal Mart's request to waive the appeal deadline and pay a greater portion of the cleanup costs, and emphasized that Coastal Mart believes there have only been three releases at the site.
Pat Vuchetich then explained why cleanup costs associated with the 1991 release and any subsequent releases in the 1990's cannot be paid by the PSTIF. He reiterated that 20% of ongoing cleanup costs are being paid by the PSTIF.
Trustees then asked both parties various questions. Ken Koon from DNR confirmed that Coastal Mart is now taking appropriate actions to complete cleanup of the site. Chairman McNutt thanked the Coastal Mart representatives for their information and informed them that the Board would discuss their request further in closed session.
Approval of Minutes – January 24, 2007 Meeting
Tom Pfeiffer moved that the minutes from the January 24, 2007 Board meeting be approved. Rich AuBuchon 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 approve funding for the four new remedial claims. Rich AuBuchon seconded. Motion carried.
Mid-Year Reports – DNR and AGO
Chairman McNutt introduced Dan Massey from the Attorney General's Office, who reviewed recent efforts to enforce the financial responsibility requirement on UST owners/operators. Rich AuBuchon requested additional information on how much of the penalties had been suspended, collected, etc. Mr. Massey agreed to provide that information. Chairman McNutt and other Trustees commended Mr. Massey for his success and encouraged him to continue these efforts.
Ken Koon was introduced for the report from the Department of Natural Resources. He noted an error in the report and promised to send a corrected version.
Cash Flow Projection
Chairman McNutt introduced Pat Eriksen , who presented the semi-annual cash flow projection to the Board. He discussed changes in some of the underlying assumptions, and noted the Fund's financial position continues to improve. A copy of Mr. Eriksen's presentation is attached hereto.**
Recommendation from Advisory Committee Regarding the Transport Load Fee
Chairman McNutt introduced Robin Melton, Chairman of the PSTIF Advisory Committee, who presented a recommendation from the Committee that the Board reduce the transport load fee from $40 to $30. Discussion ensued. Rich AuBuchon asked if the Board had ever considered purchasing reinsurance as a way of increasing the liability coverage it provides; Ms. Eighmey responded that the statute grants the Board the authority to purchase reinsurance, but it has never been done. Dan Schuette noted the vote by the Advisory Committee had been relatively evenly divided; Ms. Melton confirmed that Committee members had disparate views. She clarified that the Committee had discussed the Fund's financial situation at several meetings and had finally reached a specific recommendation at its last meeting. Ms. Eighmey commented that she does not believe the Board should collect any more money than needed to do the work authorized by the General Assembly, and that while she recognizes there is always uncertainty about future claims, she believes the time has come to reduce the fee. She noted that if the Board accepts the Committee's recommendation, it must give at least 60 days' notice of its intent to lower the fee before voting to do so.
Don McNutt commented that he would like to pay a lower fee, but as a trustee, he cannot vote in favor of reducing the fee when the board's last actuarial study indicated the Fund would experience a substantial deficit of several million dollars. He noted the Board will soon hire an actuary to do another study and if it indicates adequate funds are available to meet the Fund's liabilities, he will then support a reduction in the fee. Tom Pfeiffer suggested the Board postpone action on the fee until additional information is available.
Tom Kolb moved that the Board wait until the FY06 actuarial study has been completed before making a decision about lowering the transport load fee. Jim Ford seconded. Motion carried.
Update – UST Inspections
Chairman McNutt asked Ms. Eighmey to give an update on recent discussions with DNR concerning UST inspections. Ms. Eighmey reported that there had been recent dialogue with the Governor's staff and the DNR, and all had agreed to the concept of a “three-way contract,” utilizing a contractor who would be working for both the PSTIF and the DNR. She indicated she expects to have final details worked out to bring to the Board for approval at its May meeting. She alerted the Board that she expects there may be some one-time programming costs for Rounds and Associates to generate a checklist desired by the DNR, and that the Department may ask the Board to pay for inspection of UST sites that are not insured by the PSTIF.
Dan Schuette concurred that recent discussions have been productive and noted he hopes there will not be any programming costs, since the Department had provided its checklist in electronic format. He said he had recommended that the contractor simply download the checklist and use the list, noting that the checklist was created using Excel software. He said he would like affirmation from the Board that it is willing to pay for inspection of uninsured sites, and made a motion that the Board agree to provide funding for inspection of one-third of operating UST sites that are not insured by the PSTIF, with the understanding that the agreement to do so depends on resolution of remaining issues regarding the three-way contract. Rich AuBuchon seconded. Discussion ensued.
Tom Kolb explained that he was also part of the recent meetings on inspections and told those present at the meetings that he thought the majority of the Board would be willing to accommodate DNR's request, but that it is difficult to vote on a motion without knowing what the cost will be. Others suggested there are about 675 operating UST sites that do not use the PSTIF as their FR mechanism, so about 225 would need to be inspected annually. Carol Eighmey said she understands the desire to help DNR accomplish a worthy objective, but recommended the Board not approve the motion because she does not believe state law gives the Trustees the authority to spend money to inspect uninsured sites. She also noted that some of the money the Board has already agreed to give DNR for FY08 may be available for this, since the FY08 budget under consideration by the Legislature would provide general revenue for some of the activities DNR has been using their PSTIF appropriation for. Dan Schuette explained there is a significant amount of UST work that is not currently funded and DNR is evaluating a number of uses for the PSTIF funding currently allocated for Environmental Emergency Response activities.
Doyle Childers commented that he thinks an expression of intent or support from the PSTIF Board would reassure the EPA that all sites will be inspected. Tom Kolb noted the Board annually gives money from the trust fund to DNR to spend for program costs, and asked Tim Duggan if DNR can use some of this money for inspection of non-PSTIF-insured sites.
Tim mused that there may be a difference between the Board agreeing to give DNR money for its program costs – which becomes an appropriation to DNR that the legislature then approves – versus directly paying for inspections of uninsured costs, but said he would have to look at the question further before he could give a definitive answer.
Dan Schuette and Rich AuBuchon withdrew their motion.
Dan Schuette then moved the Board will provide financial support to conduct inspections at one-third of all UST sites, as mandated by the new federal law, pending resolution of all details regarding funding and the joint contract. Rich AuBuchon seconded. Motion carried.
Action on Proposed Rulemaking
(Jim Ford left the meeting at this point.)
Chairman McNutt noted that the Board needs to take action on Final Orders of Rulemaking for four proposed amendments to its rules, and asked for separate motions on each of the four.
Ms. Eighmey reviewed the comments received on the proposed changes to 10 CSR 100-2.010 Definitions, and recommended adoption of the Order of Rulemaking contained in the Trustees' notebooks.
Tom Pfeiffer moved that the Board adopt the Order of Rulemaking as presented. Melvin Schebaum seconded. Discussion followed. Dan Schuette voiced opposition to including the word “risk-based” in the definition of “cleanup,” noting that some property owners may want to clean up their sites to standards different than the risk-based standards established by the DNR. Ms. Eighmey responded that the Fund has always recognized that individual property owners may want to do more than is required by the Department of Natural Resources, but the policy of the PSTIF has always been to pay for actions necessary to meet DNR's standards and not pay for additional cleanup that property owners may wish to fund themselves.
Chairman McNutt called for a vote. Motion carried 7-1.
(Rich AuBuchon left the meeting at this point.)
Ms. Eighmey reported that no comments had been received on the proposed changes to 10 CSR 100-4.010 Participation Requirements for USTs, and recommended promulgation of the amendment as proposed.
Tom Pfeiffer made a motion to adopt the Order of Rulemaking for 10 CSR 100-4.010 as presented in the Trustees' notebooks. John Albert seconded. Motion carried.
Ms. Eighmey reported that no comments had been received on the proposed changes to 10 CSR 100-4.020 Participation Requirements for ASTs, and recommended promulgation of the amendment as proposed.
Tom Pfeiffer made a motion to adopt the Order of Rulemaking for 10 CSR 100-4.020 as proposed. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Ms. Eighmey reviewed the comments received on the proposed changes to 10 CSR 100-5.010 Claims for Cleanup Costs, and recommended adoption of the Order of Rulemaking presented in the trustees' notebooks.
Dan Schuette moved that the Board disapprove the proposed change to paragraph (8)(C)3. Tom Kolb seconded. Considerable discussion ensued. Mr. Schuette questioned whether the Board was attempting to set environmental standards with this part of its rule. Ms. Eighmey agreed that the DNR has sole authority to establish cleanup standards; she explained that the Department's standards can be met in various ways, and that using the Department's Tier 2 standards means that the analysis of risk is customized to fit the specific characteristics of the site, whereas using DNR's Tier 1 standards simply means the owner uses certain conservative assumptions about his property. There was further discussion, including clarification that Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards exist for both residential and non-residential properties and the Board's proposed amendment to its rule does not address or affect the land use determination. Don McNutt observed that it has been a longstanding practice of the PSTIF to only pay for the work needed to meet DNR's standards, and that some property owners have chosen to do more cleanup than is required by DNR, and pay for the additional work themselves. He commented that the Fund must use DNR's objective standards as the goal for the cleanup, rather than let each property owner decide for himself how much cleanup he wishes to do with the Fund's money. Doyle Childers questioned whether the state has more liability if Tier 2 standards are used.
Chairman McNutt called for a vote on the motion. It failed on a vote of 6-1.
Tom Kolb made a motion to adopt the Order of Rulemaking for 10 CSR 100-5.010 Claims for Cleanup Costs as presented in the Trustees' notebooks, which included withdrawal of proposed amendments to subsections (10)(F) and (10)(H). John Albert seconded. Discussion followed. Mr. Schuette reiterated the Department's opinion that the rule may constitute a taking and that a Regulatory Impact Report and Small Business Impact Statement are required. Tim Duggan reported that he had reviewed these issues and disagrees with the Department's view.
Chairman McNutt called for a vote on the motion, which passed 6-1.
Legislative Report
Chairman McNutt directed Trustees to the information provided in their notebooks concerning legislation being considered by the Missouri General Assembly and asked if there were any questions. There were none.
(Danny Opie left the meeting at this point.)
Administrative Issues
Appointments to Advisory Committee – Tom Kolb moved to approve the appointments of Scott Blank, Bi-State Oil Company, and Donna Weil, Site Oil Company, to the PSTIF Advisory Committee. Tom Pfeiffer seconded. Motion carried.
Update on EPAct – Chairman McNutt directed the Trustees to the information provided in their meeting notebooks and asked if there were any questions. There were none.
Update on RBCA – Ms. Eighmey said she would discuss this at a future meeting.
Report on National Tanks Conference – Ms. Eighmey gave a brief report on her attendance at the National Tanks Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Annual Fund Administrator's Meeting – June 3-6, 2007 – Melvin Schebaum moved that the Board approve expenses for the Executive Director to attend this meeting. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Ethics Commission Reports – Chairman McNutt reminded Trustees that their financial disclosure reports are due May 1.
Billings – Chairman McNutt noted the list of bills in the notebooks and invited Trustees 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 presentation 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.
Back
to Top
