| Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order.
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| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Don McNutt, Chairman
John Albert
Tom Kolb
Danny Opie
Melvin Schebaum
Dan Schuette
Bruce Work
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James Ford, Vice Chairman
Henry Herschel
Gary O'Neal
Tom Pfeiffer
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| Staff Present: |
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Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Diane Wallace, Executive Assistant
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Bob Clarke, Operations Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Dan Henry, Claims Coordinator Supervisor, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Jeff Humenik, Claims Supervisor, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
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| Others Present: |
Tim Chibnall, Department of Natural Resources
Heath Clarkston, Gallagher Consultants
Ron Leone, Executive Director, MPCA
Mike Martin, Department of Natural Resources
Dave Pate, Midwest Environmental Consultants
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Approval of Minutes– September 27, 2006 Meeting
Dan Schuette moved that the minutes from the September 27, 2006 Board meeting be approved. Danny Opie seconded. During discussion, Mr. Schuette asked that the words, “DNR has so far refused to provide such” be changed to read, “DNR has not provided such.” He and Mr. Opie withdrew their motion. Tom Kolb then moved that the minutes be approved with this change. Dan Schuette 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 five new remedial claims. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Annual Report on Insured AST Losses
Ms. Eighmey reviewed the FY06 loss frequency data for insured AST owners, noting that the PSTIF's loss frequency is very good. She noted that only about 29 percent of eligible ASTs are insured by the PSTIF, and commented that it appears a consensus is developing for the legislature to consider changing Missouri law to require AST owners/operators to have pollution liability insurance.
FY06 Audit Report
Chairman McNutt introduced Lynn Graves, Graves & Associates, to present the FY06 Audit. Mr. Graves reviewed his findings and reported that his firm had issued a “clean audit opinion” for the PSTIF. Because he had added some text to the final report that was not included in the version provided to Trustees prior to the meeting, Chairman McNutt postponed a Board vote approving the report until the next meeting.
Report on Remedial Claims Project
Chairman McNutt introduced Pat Vuchetich to present findings on the remedial claims study authorized by the Board last fall. Mr. Vuchetich summarized the findings and gave examples of sites that were assumed to pose a greater or lesser risk to the Fund.
Bruce Work asked whether information exists indicating which sites have ASTs and which have USTs; Mr. Vuchetich indicated that information exists for less than half of the sites in the STIMS database.
Dan Schuette asked if the Board could buy reinsurance for some or all of the potential remedial claims. Ms. Eighmey responded that it would be difficult to purchase reinsurance for an undefined liability. Mr. Schuette commented that it would be good public policy from an environmental standpoint to try and motivate property owners to file claims.
Tom Kolb asked how much the Board has reserved for these claims; Ms. Eighmey responded that Williams' most recent cash flow projection included $18 million for future remedial claims, but as indicated in their report, the Fund's actual liability could be as high as $190 million. Some Trustees commented that they thought an average estimated claim cost of $80,000 was too large.
Ms. Eighmey commented that, regardless of what the average claim cost is assumed to be, the large uncertainty in the number of future claims makes planning difficult, and suggested that at some point, the Board should reduce that uncertainty by allowing a legislative deadline for filing remedial claims to occur. She indicated there will be further discussions with the Advisory Committee on whether that deadline should be December 31, 2010, as currently contained in state law, or another date.
Report on Advisory Committee Meeting and Update on Implementation of Federal Energy Act's UST Provisions
Ms. Eighmey reviewed the discussions that took place at the November 1 Advisory Committee Meeting and reported that no specific recommendations arose from the meeting. There was discussion about the chart summarizing the Federal Energy Act and some comments from Trustees about the Delivery Prohibition. Ron Leone observed that there is only one legislative session available in which to make any legislative changes that may be needed to meet the Delivery Prohibition deadline. Dan Schuette noted that EPA is indicating it will recognize a state's progress toward meeting the various grant requirements, even if the state does not have each provision fully implemented by the statutory deadline.
Report and Recommendation - RBCA
Ms. Eighmey reviewed the history of tank site cleanups and the implementation of risk-based corrective action. She noted that some technical issues have arisen that need additional research by knowledgeable professionals, and that neither the DNR nor the PSTIF have staff time available to undertake this research. She asked the Board for approval to spend up to $25,000 from its Contingency budget for one-time projects that the DNR Tanks Section and the PSTIF agree on to assist with RBCA. Tom Kolb asked why additional work is needed after a multi-year effort was undertaken to design the RBCA requirements. Dan Schuette responded that he supports the recommendation, as some questions have arisen during implementation of the new standards that were not fully developed during the stakeholder meetings, involving how to implement the new standards. Mr. Schuette made a motion to approve the Executive Director's recommendation. Melvin Schebaum seconded. Motion carried.
Administrative Issues
Renewal of Williams & Company Consulting Contract – Tom Kolb made a motion to renew the Williams & Company Consulting contract for 2007, noting the contract allows a two percent increase in pricing. Bruce Work seconded. Motion carried.
Update – PSTIF Proposed Rulemaking – Tim Duggan affirmed that transmittal letters were recently signed and the Board's proposed rule amendments can now be filed with the Secretary of State by December 1.
Update on FY07 Inspections – Chairman McNutt observed that the FY07 inspections are underway and that he and Ms. Eighmey are still in communication with Dan Schuette about making DNR a party to the inspection contract. He noted the PSTIF is waiting to hear back from DNR at this time.
Board Meeting Dates and Locations for 2007 – Chairman McNutt informed Trustees that the September Board Meeting date has changed to October 3, 2007.
Next Board Meeting – Chairman McNutt announced that the next meeting of the Board of Trustees would be at The University Club in the T.O. Wright Conference Room, on the University of Missouri Campus on January 24.
Billings – Chairman McNutt called the Trustees' attention to the recent bills in their notebooks.
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. Danny Opie seconded. Motion carried.
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