Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order. |
|
| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Don McNutt, Chairman
Jim Ford, Vice Chairman
John Albert
Tom Kolb
Ski Mariea
Danny Opie
Chris Pieper
Melvin Schebaum
Renee Slusher
Bruce Work
|
Tom Pfeiffer |
| Staff Present: |
|
Dan Atwill, Atwill and Montgomery
Bob Clarke, Operations Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Dan Henry, Claims Coordinator, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
Diane James, Executive Assistant |
| Others Present: |
Ross Bridges, Atwill and Montgomery
Ken Koon, Chief, Tanks Section, Hazardous Waste Program, MDNR
Ron Leone, Executive Director, MPCA
Mike Martin, Compliance/Enforcement Section, Hazardous Waste Program, MDNR
Heather Peters, Tanks Compliance/Enforcement Section, MDNR
Ryan Rowden, Executive Director, Missouri Petroleum Council
|
Claim Appeal - McCray Lumber, Claim 62678
Jim Ford moved to approve Ms. Eighmey’s recommendation to pay an additional $2,295.00 on this claim. Ski Mariea seconded. There was discussion about how the cost for installation of monitoring wells continues to increase. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes – January 20, 2010 -Open Session Meeting
Bruce Work moved that the minutes from the January 20 Board meeting be approved. John Albert seconded the motion. Chairman McNutt asked if there were any changes or corrections; Melvin Schebaum noted that he was not at the meeting, but his name was shown in both the Trustees Present and Absent columns. With that correction, the minutes were approved.
Monthly Reports
Chairman McNutt invited Trustees to review the monthly reports. Ms. Eighmey highlighted changes made to the format of the Balance Sheet, which are explained in footnotes.
Chairman McNutt pointed out the memo in this section of the notebook that responds to a question Mr. Ford raised at the last meeting about large-loss claims.
Cash Flow Projection
Chairman McNutt directed Trustees’ attention to the cash flow projection prepared by Williams & Company. He said that since the Board had just received the actuarial report at its January meeting, and since there were no major changes to the projection, Pat Eriksen was not asked to attend this meeting. It was noted that the projected claim frequencies had been reduced, and that – barring an unexpected loss of cash reserves – it appears the transport load fee will not have to be adjusted until approximately 2016.
AST "FR" Requirement
Trustees reviewed and discussed ongoing efforts to inform AST owners and operators of the requirement to have a “financial responsibility” mechanism by the end of 2010. Mr. Albert indicated some facility owners still need to comply with Weights and Measures’ requirements before they will be eligible to participate in the PSTIF and said one of the most common compliance issues is demonstrating that the containment under and around the tanks is liquid-tight.
Chairman McNutt suggested a list be posted on a web site to inform fuel distributors which AST facilities are not in compliance. There was discussion about what will happen to facilities that do not have FR by the end of the year. It was suggested there may need to be some coordination between DNR and MDA so the timeframes for getting into compliance, penalties and/or being shut down are similar for UST and AST facilities.
Legislative Report
Next, Chairman McNutt opened discussion about the proposal that had recently surfaced in a Senate Committee hearing to “sweep” $43 million from the Fund. Though the proposal had not yet been written into a bill, Ms. Eighmey asked the Board to take a position on it so she could communicate that position to legislators who are considering the idea.
Tom Kolb moved to oppose any proposal to “sweep” money from the PSTIF into the state’s general revenue fund to be used for other purposes. Ski Mariea seconded. Discussion ensued. Questions were asked about whether there are any other special state funds that have long-term liabilities like the PSTIF, and whether the bill language in SB1000 would override the language in Section 319.129 that limits the purposes for which money in the PSTIF can be used. The possibility that the transport load fee would have to be raised if cash is transferred to general revenue was discussed; it was pointed out that a state law enacted in 2009 prohibits increasing any “user fees” until 2014, which might prevent the Board from increasing the transport load fee. Trustees asked whether federal funds to DNR for UST work would be reduced if the state legislature “raids” the tank fund; Ms. Eighmey explained that such a provision was included in the federal Energy Act passed in 2005, but it was “toothless,” since it provides that funding for certain activities would be withheld but Congress had never appropriated money for those activities.
After discussion, Chairman McNutt called for a vote. Chris Pieper and Renee Slusher abstained; all other trustees voted in favor of the motion.
Ms. Eighmey reviewed other legislation of interest, including the bill that would authorize an operator training program for UST operators.
Update on Rulemankings
The Board then reviewed the summary of rulemakings included in their notebooks. Chairman McNutt asked for a motion on Ms. Eighmey’s recommendation to approve an expenditure for a management consultant to help MDNR evaluate and improve its oversight of cleanups. Jim Ford moved to approve an expenditure not to exceed $25,000 for this purpose. Ski Mariea seconded. Discussion ensued.
Ms. Eighmey reported on recent conversations with Leanne Tippett-Mosby, Acting Director of DNR’s Division of Environmental Quality, and Chris Pieper, Deputy General Counsel, noting that both acknowledge the need to improve and accelerate the oversight of cleanups and implement clear and consistent cleanup requirements. Mr. Pieper opined that he supports the recommendation and agrees it will benefit the Department to engage outside expertise. After discussion, the motion carried.
Aministrative Issues
Expedited Files – Chairman McNutt asked Trustees if there were any questions on the information provided in their notebooks; there were none.
ARRA – Chairman McNutt invited questions or comments on what was provided in their notebooks. Ken Koon reported the Department has awarded 54 contracts to consultants for work at 68 sites, committing about $1.9 million. Chris Pieper noted the money will be disbursed by the deadlines set by EPA.
Inspections – Chairman McNutt asked Trustees if there were any questions on the information provided in their notebooks; there were none.
Missouri Waste Coalition Conference, June 21, 2010 – Chairman McNutt thanked DNR for inviting the PSTIF to participate in a panel discussion at the conference.
Missouri Ethics Commission – Chairman McNutt reminded Trustees that their Ethics Commission reports are due by May 1, emphasizing that there is a financial penalty for failure to meet the deadline.
Billings– Chairman McNutt invited questions from the Trustees on the invoices listed; there were none.
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. Danny Opie seconded. Motion carried.
Back
to Top
