Governor Snyder Makes Appointments to the Underground Storage Tank Authority Board
At long last, Governor Snyder appointed six individuals to the Underground Storage Tank Authority Board (“UST Board”). The six member UST Board was established with the passage of Public Act 416 of 2014 on December 30, 2014. PA 416 provides for an UST Cleanup Fund (“Fund”) intended to assist eligible UST owners and operators in paying for corrective actions associated with releases from covered USTs (and to provide an acceptable mechanism by which the UST owner/operator can demonstrate financial responsibility), and it is the job of the UST Board to manage this Fund. Although the new Fund was created more than 5 months ago, Governor Snyder did not make the appointments to the UST Board until last Friday, June 5, 2015. The six appointed individuals will serve terms of three years (staggered) and represent the following sectors: petroleum refiners, independent petroleum marketers, motor fuel retail associations, business associations which include UST owners and operators, a statewide environmental organization, and the general public.
Governor Snyder’s press release provided the following UST Board names:
- John Dimmick, Vice President of Walters Dimmick Petroleum, Inc.;
- Juman Doleh-Alomary, IT Audit Director at Wayne State University;
- Brian Eggers, Founding Partner at AKT Peerless;
- Greg Gould, Maintenance Manager for Speedway, LLC (southeast Michigan);
- Bill Saad, President and CEO of Michigan Fuels, Inc. and Fuels Transportation, Inc.; and
- Grenetta Thomassey, Program Director of Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.
The UST Board has a daunting task ahead, as much work must be done to establish claim management and review procedures, a schedule of costs, etc. — particularly since the releases discovered and reported after December 30, 2014 would appear to be eligible for reimbursement.
Finally, EPA Region 5 recently indicated that the Fund has not yet been approved for use as a financial assurance mechanism (there is, in fact, some question as to whether formal application for approval has been submitted by the DEQ yet). Until such time as the EPA provides its approval for use of the Fund as a financial assurance mechanism, UST owners/operators should maintain their current insurance policies (or whatever other acceptable mechanism is being utilized).
We will provide further updates as additional information becomes available. To read Governor Snyder’s press release, click here:
http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57577_57657_59871-356516–,00.html
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