The mission of the Financial Responsibility Task Force is to identify important issues affecting State petroleum cleanup and/or liability financial assurance trust funds for USTs, to create a forum for the State officials who manage them to communicate and share related information and experiences, to interact and communicate with officials at the U.S. EPA on issues pertaining to its regulation and oversight of State petroleum UST programs, and to work together to achieve our mutual goals.
Our Team
Lynda Provencher works in the Sites Management Section (SMS) of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. She has been a project manager of contaminated petroleum and non-petroleum sites in Vermont since the early 1990s. In more recent years she has included working on Brownfield sites and updating and developing Rules and Policies for the SMS. Lynda has been involved with the ASTSWMO Annual State Fund Survey (now the Annual Tanks Update) since its inception. Currently, she is serving as vice chair of ASTSWMO’s Financial Responsibility Task Force, and is excited to continue working on projects with the Task Force. In her free time, Lynda enjoys being outside, reading, cooking and spending time with her family.
Nicole Lelievre works in the Permit Coordination Section of the Contaminated Site Remediation & Redevelopment Program of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. She has been with the program since 2014 and has worked on varying projects, but as of the last 5 years, has been working in UST Registration & Billing. This is Nicole’s first year with ASTWSMO (2022) and she is currently serving as a member of ASTSWMO’s Financial Responsibility Task Force. She is excited to work with the team on emerging issues in the UST Financial Responsibility task force. In her free time, Nicole enjoys spending time with her two young boys, especially at the beach and boardwalk.
Chanin is the Financial & Mission Support Supervisor for Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality. Originally from Indiana, Chanin attended Purdue University and worked in her home state for years before moving to Virginia in 2015. Prior to coming to DEQ, she was a Sr Budget Analyst for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. She enjoys hiking and traveling the world. Every year she travels to Alaska to volunteer with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Jill Stoltz is the Kentucky Underground Storage Tank Branch’s Claims and Payments section supervisor. She works with her staff of 7 to review and approve fund reimbursements for investigative and remedial actions associated with UST cleanups. Prior to taking on this position in 2013 she served as a project manager for site investigation and corrective actions for 5 years. While in this position she was the Environmental Education representative at the division level. Currently, she is the chair for ASTSWMO’s Financial Responsibility task force. She is excited to continue the Emerging Trends, Annual Tanks Update and Cost Control projects and looks forward to the new ideas that continue to surface with this energized group. In her free time she enjoys spending time hiking and camping with her husband and two sons.
Nikolas Hertrich is an environmental quality analyst with the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Authority (MUSTA) housed within the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. His primary functions include reviewing eligibility of claims and invoices, conducting audits, communicating with stakeholders, and assisting the MUSTA Fund Administrator as needed. Nikolas has been in this role for over 6 years. Prior to joining the State he was an environmental consultant working with a global firm managing the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks sites for a major oil company in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota for 11 years. Nikolas appreciates the opportunity he is being given and is excited to be a member of the State Fund – Financial Responsibility Task Force. When not working Nikolas is on the Howell City Council and represents his hometown on various boards. For fun he enjoys camping in their rebuilt pop up with his wife and Belgian Malinois pup Smith Deschain on their property in northern Michigan.
Terin Morris is the Indemnity Fund Administrator for the Petroleum Storage Tank Division of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. She has been with the Petroleum Storage Tank Division for 23 years and became the Fund Administrator in 2017. As Fund Administrator, she determines eligibility and ensures funding is available to address petroleum release cases in the State of Oklahoma. She is excited to continue as a member of the ASTSWMO Financial Responsibility Task Force and assist with upcoming projects. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her three children and husband and attending their various activities.
Kelley Ogletree is the Executive Director of the Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund. Kelley, along with a staff of claims adjusters, underwriters, and legal and administrative support, manages the PSTIF under the direction of a Board of Trustees appointed by Missouri’s governor. The MO PSTIF is utilized to reimburse costs for cleanups of historic contamination as well as new releases reported by UST and AST tank owners / operators who voluntarily participate in the Fund. Prior to joining the PSTIF staff in 2020, Kelley was a Risk Manager and Commercial Insurance Advisor in the private sector, and her background includes work with petroleum marketers and suppliers in Missouri. In her spare time Kelley enjoys spending time with her family and traveling whenever and wherever the opportunity presents.
Therron Blatter is the Manager for the Petroleum Storage Tank Branch in the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. In this capacity, he is responsible for oversight of Utah’s compliance and enforcement program, cleanup program, and Petroleum Storage Tank cleanup fund. He has worked in the Utah UST program for the past 31 years. Therron received his B.S and M.S. in Geology from Brigham Young University. Outside of work he enjoys cycling, backpacking, and spending time with his grandkids.
David Deaton is an Analyst with the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund, as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Financial Assistance. David reviews and approves reimbursement requests for corrective action associated with cleanup of leaking USTs, and handles issues regarding maintaining financial responsibility for USTs. He is also a Manger of the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program, which helps provide relief for those experiencing hardships paying their water bills during the Covid period. Currently, he is a member of the ASTSWMO State Fund Financial Responsibility Task Force, and is excited to assist with current and upcoming projects the Task Force is working on. David enjoys spending time outdoors doing all types of activities, but especially rock climbing.
Dave Wattles is currently the Operations Manager of the Idaho Petroleum Storage Tank Fund (PSTF). He is tasked with managing the PSTF underwriting, claims, and loss control departments. PSTF is a division of the Idaho State Insurance Fund. The Idaho State Insurance Fund is the designated administrator for the Idaho Petroleum Clean Water Trust Fund. Dave has been a licensed insurance professional since 1999 and has worked for the Idaho State Insurance Fund since 2015. He has a Bachelors in Business Information Systems from Ashford University, an AINS designation from The Insurance Institutes, and has studied Accountancy at Boise State University.
