Michael L. ParsonGovernor
Governor Office Building
Room 470
Jefferson City, MO
Start Time: 9:30 a.m.
[Note: A Public Hearing on UST Operator Training was held prior to the regular Board meeting. A transcript of the public hearing is available by contacting the PSTIF Office.]
Chairman McNutt called the Open Session meeting to order at 10:53 a.m.
Trustees Present:
Don McNutt, Chairman
Jim Ford, Vice Chairman
John Albert
Harry Bozoian
Danny Opie
Tom Pfeiffer
Melvin Schebaum
Renee Slusher
Absent:
Tom Kolb
Ski Mariea
Staff Present:
Tim Duggan, Assistant Attorney General
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
H Patrick Eriksen, President, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
Dan Henry, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc.
Diane James, Executive Assistant
Patrick J. Vuchetich, General Claims Mgr, Williams & Company Consulting, Inc
Others Present:
Doug Drouare, Environmental Scientist, U.S. EPA Region 7, Kansas City
Donnie Greenwalt, Wallis Companies
Carolyn Hoskinson, Director, U.S. EPA Office of Underground Storage Tanks, Washington DC
Mark Jordan, Wallis Companies
Ken Koon, Tanks Section Chief, Hazardous Waste Program, DNR
David Pate, Midwest Environmental Consultants
Heather Peters, Compliance/Enforcement Section,
Hazardous Waste Program, MDNR
Jerry Prewett, Program Director, Geological Survey, MDNR/DGLS
Margaret Stockdale, Regional Program Manager, U.S. EPA Region 7, Kansas City
(Tim Duggan left the meeting to attend to another matter.)
Review and Approval of Minutes – January 25, 2012 -Open Session Meeting
Renee Slusher moved that the minutes from the January 25, 2012 Board meeting be approved. John Alert seconded. Motion carried.
Monthly Reports
Chairman McNutt asked if there were any questions about the current financial statements ormonthly activity reports; there were none.
Ms. Eighmey briefly commented on why claims costs are running slightly higher than projected, noting the PSTIF has recently paid for some large “dig and haul” projects.
Cash Flow Projection
Chairman McNutt introduced Pat Eriksen from Williams and Company Consulting to present a cash flow projection.
(Tim Duggan returned to the meeting.)
Mr. Erikson distributed and reviewed the attached overview showing how this projection differs from the one presented a year ago. There were no questions; Chairman McNutt thanked him for his presentation.
Legislative Report
Chairman McNutt noted that an updated copy of the legislative report had been distributed at the beginning of the meeting. He asked if Trustees had any questions on the appropriations bills; there were none.
He then invited questions or comments on the “fund sweep” bill; there were none.
Ms. Eighmey briefly commented on SB838, indicating she was not aware of what had triggered the bill’s provision regarding the PSTIF; she said that, as written, the bill could pose some problems for the PSTIF, but she is in discussion with various persons to better understand why the bill was filed and will convene a conference call of the Trustees if a formal position on the bill is needed. Chairman McNutt reported he had talked with Senator Schmitt about the bill, who has promised to follow up with MPCA and PSTIF to understand the issue and concerns.
There were no questions or comments on the other bills summarized in Trustees’ notebooks.
Update – EPA Issues
Ms. Eighmey gave a brief update on EPA’s oversight of states’ tank funds like the PSTIF; she noted she has long supported efforts to improve EPA’s oversight and is glad the “Fund Soundness Guidance” required in the 2005 Energy Policy Act has finally been issued. She noted Missouri had participated as one of five states to pilot test EPA’s data collection form for analyzing the financial soundness of state tank funds.
Ms. Eighmey noted comments on EPA’s proposed new UST rules were due soon and that additional changes will be made to the PSTIF’s draft comment letter. She committed to circulate a revised version via email to the Trustees for review/comment before sending it to EPA.
Melvin Schebaum asked whether EPA’s requirement that Missouri have an EPA-approved UST program would serve as a deterrent against the Missouri Legislature sweeping money from the PSTIF. Ms. Eighmey replied that EPA has the option of withdrawing approval of a tank fund as an appropriate and viable FR mechanism, but that does not affect EPA “State Program Approval.” She said if EPA withdrew approval of PSTIF as an FR mechanism, the consequence would be that tank owners/operators would simply be required to implement a different FR mechanism. Ms. Hoskinson confirmed that whether a state has a state tank fund serving as a FR mechanism does not affect EPA’s approval of the state’s UST program. It was noted that some states’ regulatory programs were initially approved by EPA, but the state has not been diligent in enforcing the FR requirement.
Update RBCA
Chairman McNutt noted recent developments were summarized in the Trustees’ meeting materials and said he hopes to continue his dialogue with some of the Hazardous Waste Management Commissioners to help them understand the issue and the petroleum marketers’ perspective. He said Ron Leone also would continue to engage in conversation with the DNR and the Commission as opportunities to do so arise.
Administrative Issues
Monitoring Wells – Chairman McNutt asked Trustees if they had any questions about the monitoring well software; there were none.
National Tanks Conference, St. Louis – March 19-21, 2012 – Chairman McNutt commented that Missouri would be well-represented at this conference and thanked John Albert, Carol Eighmey, Ken Koon, and Heather Peters for their work in planning the conference.
Billings – Chairman McNutt asked if there were any questions regarding any of the recent bills; there were none.
Chairman McNutt reminded all present that the next Board Meeting would be in Columbia on May 23, at The University Club on MU’s campus.
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. John Albert seconded. Motion carried.