Michael L. ParsonGovernor
Doubletree Hotel
Capitol View Room
Jefferson City, MO
Start Time: 9:31 a.m.
Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order.
Trustees Present:
Don McNutt, Chairman
Jim Ford, Vice Chairman
John Albert)
Ski Mariea
Marty Miller
Renee Slusher
Absent:
Tom Kolb
Danny Opie
Tom Pfeiffer
Melvin Schebaum
Staff Present:
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Dan Henry, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
Diane James, Executive Assistant
Patrick J. Vuchetich, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
David Walters, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
Others Present:
Carey Bridges, Geological Survey Program, Missouri Geological Survey, DNR
Kim Hoke, Division of Environmental Quality, DNR
Bobbilynne Koepke, Environmental Works, Inc.
Ken Koon, Tanks Section, Hazardous Waste Program, DNR
David Lamb, Hazardous Waste Program, DNR
Ron Leone, Executive Director, MPCA
Jack McManus, Chief Counsel, Agriculture and Environment Division, AGO
Heather Peters, Compliance/Enforcement Section, Hazardous Waste Program, DNR
Jason Smith, Environmental Works, Inc.
Kristin Stokely, Attorney General’s Office
Claim Appeal – Git-N-Go #65 (Kum & Go), Claim 60560
Chairman McNutt introduced Jason Smith from Environmental Works to present this appeal. Mr. Smith distributed a map of the site, which is filed with the Trustees’ meeting notebook. He explained the chronology of activity at the site, including removal of the old USTs, razing and rebuilding the building, excavation of the new tank pit, and installation of the new USTs. He said the Board’s administrator had paid for most of the soil hauled to the landfill, but his client is requesting reimbursement of costs for an additional 400 cubic yards from excavation of the new tank pit.
Chairman McNutt then invited Pat Vuchetich to explain Williams’ decision on this appeal. Mr. Vuchetich confirmed many of the facts relayed by Mr. Smith and reviewed the details of the reimbursement decision. He also distributed additional documents to the Trustees, which are also filed with the Trustees’ notebook.
There was considerable discussion, during which the Trustees reviewed the maps, discussed the number and location of the borings done for soil sampling, and asked both parties various questions.
Chairman McNutt thanked Mr. Smith for presenting the appeal and let him know the request would be taken up in closed session later today and he would receive a letter within the next week, informing him of the Board’s decision.
Approval of Minutes – July 23, 2014 – Open Session Meeting
Jim Ford moved that the minutes from the July 23, 2014 Board meeting be approved. Ski Mariea seconded. Motion carried.
Monthly Reports
Chairman McNutt noted the financial statements are in draft form until the audit is complete and all year-end adjustments are made. He questioned why the transport load fee revenue was down; Ms. Eighmey responded she had asked the Department of Revenue that question and their answer was that the timing of receipts varies from month to month. She said if revenues do not recover by end of September, she would query the Department of Revenue more thoroughly.
Chairman McNutt asked if there were questions or comments on the Fund’s participation or claims statistics; there were none.
DNR FY14 Year-End Report
Chairman McNutt gave Trustees a few moments to review this information and said they would be discussing DNR’s annual budget shortly. He then asked if there were any questions about the information; there were none.
Cash Flow Projection
Chairman McNutt introduced Pat Eriksen from Williams & Company Consulting to present Williams’ new cash flow projection information. Mr. Eriksen used a presentation that is filed with the Trustees’ notebook. He reviewed changes in the underlying assumptions regarding frequency of future claims and timing of reimbursements, noting that the new projection “pushes” more cleanup costs further out into the future. This results in a projected cash need at the Fund’s sunset date of $121.2 million; he noted this is more than allowed under current law and reiterated the importance of accelerating the pace of cleanups.
EPA Fund Soundness Review
Chairman McNutt directed Trustees’ attention to the information provided and asked Ms. Eighmey if she had any comments on this review. Ms. Eighmey briefly reviewed the history of EPA’s guidance and actions related to assuring that state tank funds are viable financial responsibility mechanisms. She noted that, given EPA’s conclusion that the PSTIF is sound, the Trustees would likely not receive a full review/report from EPA for FY14.
Review/Approve FY16 Appropriations Requests
Chairman McNutt commented that, as is customary, we have appropriations requests for FY16 from the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Revenue, and the Attorney General’s Office as well as our own request for spending authority. He asked the Trustees to review and act on each one individually, beginning with the Department of Natural Resources’ request, and noted that the Trustees have two requests from DNR – the first involves an increase to the previously-approved FY15 amount and the second is their FY16 request.
Department of Natural Resources – David Lamb was introduced to present DNR’s budget requests; he introduced Kim Hoke, who briefly reviewed the Department’s request for additional FY15 funding related to a “Data Integration Project,” to be undertaken by a contractor. She explained that many of the Department’s databases use outdated or unstable software and that the project is intended to modernize and integrate some of these databases. She noted the Department had originally requested general revenue for this project, but that during the budget process, the funding source had shifted from general revenue to a combination of federal grants and environmental fee funds.
Chairman McNutt invited comments from Ms. Eighmey, who summarized a previous discussion with DNR staff about the project and explained why she cannot support the request. She said that, as currently presented, it is not clear that the project would benefit PSTIF participants or beneficiaries; she noted the PSTIF had paid for several previous upgrades to DNR’s tanks software and suggested if a more specific proposal were presented, with measurable outcomes and benefits for PSTIF’s “customers,” her support was more likely.
Renee Slusher moved to approve expenditure of the additional requested amount of $47,396 for FY15 for the “integrated database” project. Jim Ford seconded. Considerable discussion
followed. A roll call vote was taken; voting in favor were: Marty Miller and Renee Slusher. Voting against were: John Albert, Jim Ford, Ski Mariea, and Don McNutt. Motion failed 4-2.
Chairman McNutt then asked the Trustees to act on DNR’s request for FY16. Jim Ford moved to approve expenditures of $1,059,765, plus fringe benefits and any COLA added by the Legislature and Governor. Ski Mariea seconded. Motion carried.
Department of Revenue – Chairman McNutt noted the DOR’s request is the same as in previous years and that the amount pays for one FTE to collect and deposit the transport load fee. John Albert moved to approve the Department of Revenue’s FY16 funding request of $28,378, plus fringe benefits and any COLA added by the Legislature and Governor. Ski Mariea seconded. Motion carried.
Attorney General’s Office – Chairman McNutt reminded the Trustees they had historically funded one-half FTE, but for the current year, they had agreed to fund an additional person to work on the “double dip cases.” He noted the AGO has asked for the same amount for FY16. Jim Ford moved to approve the Attorney General’s Office FY16 funding request of $79,360, plus fringe benefits and any COLA added by the Legislature and Governor. John Albert seconded. Motion carried.
Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund – Chairman McNutt observed that the figures recommended by the Executive Director are equal to current year appropriations. Jim Ford moved to request $192,943 for salaries, plus associated fringe benefits and any COLA enacted; $2,095,354 for expense and equipment; $20,000,000 for claims; and $70,000 for refunds of participation fees, for an estimated total of $22,358,297. John Albert seconded. Discussion followed; Jim Ford asked whether the Board should request restoration of the Board’s prior authority to hire an additional FTE. This triggered additional discussion, during which it was noted the Board’s current TPA contract expires December 31, 2015, and if the Trustees were to decide to restructure its outside service contract and add staff, they would need to make a request for additional funding and FTEs in the FY16 budget. Ms. Eighmey indicated she was not prepared to present a recommendation on that issue today. The Trustees asked her to communicate to DNR and OA budget staff that the Board might wish to add a new decision item to the budget after its December 3 meeting. The motion then carried.
Presentation – FY14 UST Leaks
Chairman McNutt introduced David Walters from Williams & Company Consulting, who made a presentation on the eight leaks that occurred at PSTIF-insured UST sites during FY14.
Update – ULSD Corrosion Research
The material in the Trustees’ notebooks was briefly reviewed; it was noted that results from the EPA’s additional research should be available in early 2015.
Administrative Issues
Claims Rule Amendment/UST Operator Training Rule Published – Chairman McNutt noted these were both published in the Missouri Register and the Trustees will need to take final action on both rules at the next meeting.
Articles of Interest – There were no questions about the material provided.
Billings – There were no questions about the recent bills.
2015 Meeting Dates and Locations – Chairman McNutt asked for feedback on the proposed meeting dates for 2015; those Trustees present agreed the dates were satisfactory.
Chairman McNutt announced that the next Board Meeting would be in Columbia on December 3rd at The University Club on MU’s Campus.
He then asked the Trustees to go into closed session to:
Jim Ford moved that the Board go into closed session to discuss the matters identified by the Chairman, as authorized by Section 610.021, RSMo. Renee Slusher seconded. A roll call vote was taken; motion carried without dissent.
Chairman McNutt adjourned the open session meeting at 11:48 a.m.