Selected Archives of Volunteer Monitoring Listserv Discussions

From: Kris Stepenuck <kris.stepenuck@ces.uwex.edu>
Subject: [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?
To: volmonitor@lists.epa.gov, csreesvolmon@lists.uwex.edu

I was asked a good question by a colleague about liability insurance and volunteer monitors. I thought it would be useful to hear your input about how the issue is dealt with in your program. Specifically, I wonder how your programs deal with insurance, liability, or "risk" in monitoring effluent dominated streams? Also, do you have insurance for volunteers in water quality monitoring in general?

Subject: [volmonitor] Regarding Liability Insurance
To: Volunteer water monitoring <volmonitor@lists.epa.gov>

Our watershed group has Directors and Officers Insurance, and Liability Insurance which is general, from a private insurance agent. We added insurance for volunteer water monitoring. At the time I inquired around and found that there was an insurance company specifically for watershed and environmental groups. I got the paperwork and had everyone look it over.

The application was very detailed and regrettably our people did not want to be bothered. Although it would have been less expensive, and in the long run would have been better for our group to switch all of our insurance to this group, they would not go through the application and complete it.

The following year they reviewed all information and stayed with a private carrier for same reason. The policy we have is general for nonprofits and not specific for some of the needs we have.

Additionally I have all volunteers sign a waiver. If they are under age 18, their parents, as well as the younger person, must sign. They are required to read it and not just sign it. I go over safety precautions
very often, and in this state where Lyme disease is rampant, I have a separate set of precautions for that which In INSIST on.

[Volunteers] sign a statement about data collection and a statement that they have read and understood the safety precautions that we review and that are in their manual.

Additionally volunteers are covered theoretically under the National Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 and

"Another section of the immunity law (N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-7.1) provides that uncompensated volunteers, trustees and officers are not liable for damages related to their services on behalf of charitable non-profits, in cases of ordinary negligence. No distinction is made between recipients of the non-profits' services and strangers, meaning that unpaid trustees, officers and volunteers are covered in their individual capacities regardless of whether the person suffering damages is a beneficiary of the group's services."

There is also an article about Liability in an older issue of The Volunteer Monitor, EPA's publication -see The Volunteer Monitor, Volume 8, No. 1, Spring 1996 "Liability Insurance & Waivers" http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/volunteer/issues.htm

I hereby acknowledge that I am fully informed about the possible risks and potential for injury or loss to myself and to my personal or real property associated with activities and participation in the [sponsoring program name here] ("the Program"). Such risks may include, but are not limited to, those associated with water-sampling, water-related activities, equipment usage and handling, adverse weather conditions, other natural conditions, and exposure to the outdoor
environment and the like. I acknowledge that the [participating sponsoring agencies here] shall not be responsible for any loss or claims to myself or my property, and shall in no event be construed to have assumed any duty to me or my property by virtue of my participation in the Program. I also understand that I am not considered to be an employee, agent or representative of the [participating sponsoring agencies here] and agree not to hold myself out as such to other persons. I have read and understood safety precautions and outdoor precautions (initial and date)
______________________________________

Knowing these facts, and in consideration of your accepting my entry into the citizen volunteer program, I hereby expressly assume all risks and liability for injury or damage caused to myself or to my property. I (or my parents, guardians or responsible adults if a minor) assume liability for all injuries or damage caused by myself to others or their property. I further, for myself, my heirs and my executors, covenant not to sue and waive, release and discharge the[participating sponsoring agencies here] and any supporting organizations, and their agents, representatives, volunteer leaders or officers, assigns or anyone lawfully acting on their behalf from any and all claims, damages, losses, demands, and actions f any kind whatsoever, foreseen or unforeseen, which in any manner arise out of or in the course of my participation in [participating sponsoring agencies here] and related activities.

Attn: Parent or Guardian If student is under 18, please complete this section to allow volunteer monitoring

I hereby give my permission for my child to participate in the activities of the [participating sponsoring agencies here] and endorse the waiver as stated above.

Print parent name______________________________Signature________________________________

The following statement of commitment must be read and signed by each volunteer as a condition of participation:

As a volunteer monitor working with [participating sponsoring agencies here], I commit myself to the collection of accurate, objective, environmental information. The data that I collect will be provided to the team representatives as soon as possible after I collect it. I commit to monitoring my sample sites, using procedures and timing that has been specified to me. I agree that I will conduct my environmental monitoring in a safe way that will protect myself and those people working with or near me from harm. I also agree that I will obey all appropriate state and federal laws and not trespass on private property in order to collect my environmental monitoring data. I agree that I will only monitor at my approved site, on my approved date and time only. I agree I will always monitor in the company of another person and never alone.

__________________________________ Organization: __________________________
(signed)

__________________________________ DATE: _______________________________
(print)

I, for myself, my heir(s), and executors do hereby assume responsibility for the safety and care of all equipment, materials and supplies loaned or entrusted to me, and agree to transport, store and use such equipment, materials and/or supplies in a prudent and reasonable manner; to take such action as necessary to reduce the possibility of damage to, of, or from such equipment, materials, and/or supplies. I agree upon verbal or written demand of the [sponsoring organization here] or their authorized representative, to return said equipment, materials, and/or supplies within five working
days of such demand, to the [sponsoring organization]. I further grant full permission to the [sponsoring organization] to the use of my name and any videos, photographs, or similar records in which I appear or which may reveal my name or disclose my identity.

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 09:14:39 -0400
From: Angela McCracken <amccracken@pawatersheds.org>
Subject: RE: SPAM-LOW: [volmonitor] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

Hello everyone,

A few years ago, we surveyed watershed groups asking what they needed in terms of business and organizational support. Their response was general liability insurance, so we found an insurance company that allows us to add endorsements to our general liability insurance policy. We have been working with Roy Klauber, formerly of Marsh Advantage, now with Glatfelter to add these endorsements. We have been successful at administering this program at an affordable price to watershed groups.

We, here at PA Watersheds and Rivers, have a general liability insurance program for incorporated watershed groups who are members of PA Watersheds. The policy covers groups against third-party claims such as the classic "slip and fall" injury. It also covers claims of libel and slander with
respect to publications and press interviews. It does NOT cover or replace D&O policies, insure automobiles or watercraft, cover on-the-water events, such as sojourns or canoe trips, or cover workers compensation. With respect to monitoring specifically, it would cover any monitoring occurring
in the stream or on the embankment, but only if it is NOT performed out of a boat. In other words, you can't be in a canoe monitoring and be covered by this policy. This was a real quick and dirty of our policy so I'm sure folks will have questions. If you do, please either respond to me (amccracken@pawatersheds.org), or to John Coutts, who is our Director of Business Systems and insurance guy. His e-mail is jcoutts@pawatersheds.org. His phone number is the same as below. Also, there is more information on our website, www.pawatersheds.org.

The cost of this insurance was kept as low as possible for the sake of the watershed groups. The costs for 2005-06 are:
# of members X $.52 = $_________ (or $104 minimum)
PA Watersheds Administrative Fee = $100
PA Watersheds Membership Fee = $30

Again, please let me know if there are any questions, and I will answer them the best I can.

Regards,
Angie

Angela M. McCracken
Program Coordinator
Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers
610 North Third Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 234-7910 - phone
(717) 234-7929 - fax
amccracken@pawatersheds.org

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 09:34:55 -0400
From: Tony Williams <williams@savebuzzardsbay.org>
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

Yes, we have insurance in general for our water quality monitoring volunteers.

Tony Williams
Water Monitoring Coordinator
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay
Nashawena Mills - 620 Belleville Avenue
New Bedford, Massachusetts 02745
Tel. 508-999-6363 x.203
Fax. 508-984-7913
e-mail: williams@savebuzzardsbay.org
www.savebuzzardsbay.org

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 08:48:36 -0500
From: Michael D Smolen <smolen@okstate.edu>
Subject: Re: [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

I checked with Cheryl Cheadle, the State Blue Thumb Coordinator on this. Cheryl says that all Blue Thumb volunteers are also NRCS Earth Team Volunteers. This allows them to come under workmans comp. It benefits NRCS because they can report the volunteer hours. I believe the volunteer hours may also be reported as part of the match on 319 projects.

Michael D. Smolen
218 Ag Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078-6021
phone: 405-744-8414
Fax: 405-744-6059
http://waterquality.okstate.edu

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 09:10:51 -0800
From: streamkeepers <streamkeepers@co.clallam.wa.us>
Subject: [Az_wqmonitoring] RE: [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for
volunteers?

The County government that we're part of is self-insured, and we insure all our volunteers for both "excess medical" (i.e., beyond their own insurance) and non-negligent liability. Volunteers must go through a one-hour orientation on safety and County policies before they're covered under this insurance. There's a whole packet of information they get and some stuff they have to sign. We also have a "Know Before You Go" section in our volunteer handbook that addresses some safety and liability issues. We haven't had a claim in 8 years; and fortunately, we don't generally have effluent problems in our streams.

Ed Chadd & Hannah Merrill, co-managers
Streamkeepers of Clallam County
Clallam County Department of Community Development
223 E. 4 St., Suite 5
Port Angeles, WA 98362
360-417-2281; FAX 360-417-2443
streamkeepers@co.clallam.wa.us
www.clallam.net/streamkeepers

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 10:22:08 -0700
From: Eleanor Ely <ellieely@earthlink.net>
Subject: [Az_wqmonitoring] RE: [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for
volunteers?

Just curious -- are there any volunteer monitoring programs that have actually needed to use liability insurance for a volunteer monitoring-related lawsuit? It is my impression that volunteer monitors virtually never sue the organizations for which they are volunteering. Is this true?

Medical insurance could be a different matter -- I could imagine it being used if a volunteer who had no other insurance was injured while volunteering. Are there any volunteer monitoring programs that have needed to use medical insurance for a volunteer monitor?

Ellie

Eleanor Ely
Editor, The Volunteer Monitor Newsletter
50 Benton Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
415-334-2284
ellieely@earthlink.net

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 14:05:43 -0400
From: Scott Kishbaugh <sakishba@gw.dec.state.ny.us>
Subject: RE:[volmonitor] [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

All of the volunteers that participate in the NY Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP) are required to sign a Release of Claims / Waiver of Liability form that was approved by the state Attorney General's office. While it is not iron-clad (and probably not completely lawyer proof), we have yet to face a liability issue from any of our > 1300 volunteers.

Scott

Scott A. Kishbaugh, P.E.
Environmental Engineer II
Lake Services Section
Bureau of Water Assessment and Management
NYSDEC Division of Water
625 Broadway, 4th Floor
Albany, NY 12233-3502
(phone) 518-402-8282
(fax) 518-402-9029
(email) sakishba@gw.dec.state.ny.us

From: Eleanor Ely <ellieely@earthlink.net>
Subject: [volmonitor] liability insurance
To: Volunteer water monitoring <volmonitor@lists.epa.gov>

Below is a comment on the insurance question that was sent directly to me by
Ken Cooke. He is unable to post directly to the listserv so I am forwarding
his message on his behalf.
-- Ellie Ely

Eleanor Ely
Editor, The Volunteer Monitor Newsletter
50 Benton Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
415-334-2284
ellieely@earthlink.net
The Volunteer Monitor is available online at
www.EPA.gov/OWOW/volunteer/vm_index.html

Hi,

That is a good question, has there been a need for the insurance in our profession.

More specifically, has any group actually "filed a claim" under their D and O or general liability insurance.

And, if so, what was the outcome of that filing? (payout, denial etc...)

They may not be able to give you the details of a payout. (such as amount) due to confidentiality clauses in insurance settlements.

Water Watch has not had a claim against it in its 20 year history. We have had injuries (particularly during clean ups from broken glass, stings, lacerations, broken bones from falls etc...) But, no one has
considered coming after us for money. That might change if they knew we had insurance!

I can't send a question/message directly to the list serv due to our state government e-mail proxy system, so I have to ask you directly.

Thanks

Ken Cooke
KY Water Watch
Ken.Cooke@ky.gov

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 15:31:56 -0400
From: Danielle Donkersloot <Danielle.Donkersloot@dep.state.nj.us>
Subject: [volmonitor] Fwd: RE: liability

This volunteer works for the NJ Fish and Wildlife Service's Volunteer Corp monitoring terrestrial species. He found an endangered species near a parking lot at a zoo. He filed a "spotting" report with Fish and Wildlife. The zoo was expanding the parking lot but because of his findings, they couldn't get the permission. So the zoo actually sued the volunteer. There was a huge debate about this going on in the press, but ultimately, the volunteer was covered by the State's lawyers in court. There are many more details to this story, but the bottom line is that we will never know when we will need the insurance, or what our volunteers may find in the field.

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 14:04:41 -0600
From: Laurie Fisher <laurie.fisher@state.co.us>
Subject: RE:[volmonitor] [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

The issue may be less on the part of the volunteers themselves than where the organization gets its funding. In Colorado, if the State passes through (i.e., contracts) funds to any private organization
(nonprofit or otherwise) we require the organization to carry $1 million in liability insurance.

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 17:15:50 -0400
From: URI Watershed Watch <uriww@etal.uri.edu>
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

We have a similar waiver form that our volunteers sign (vetted by the university lawyers). Essentially it informs the volunteers that they are NOT considered employees of the university and thus not covered by their insurance and that unless we do something really negligent that they can’t sue the university. We have had only one very minor injury (a minor chemical burn) so have never had anyone even suggest that they intended to make a liability claim. We do have an insurance policy for a small boat that we use to train volunteers and for monitoring by our student staff. This is a recent requirement of the university, which realized that its small boat fleet was not covered under their other policy.

Ellie, like you I have never heard of a volunteer monitor that pursued a legal liability against a program (nor have I heard of any serious associated illnesses or injuries) although it remains a source of concern to boards and agencies alike.

Elizabeth Herron
URI Watershed Watch
Phone: 401-874-4552
Fax: 401-874-4561
Web: http://www.uri.edu/ce/wq/

Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 09:04:44 -0400
From: Kimberly Morris-Zarneke <Kimberly_Morris-Zarneke@dnr.state.ga.us>
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Liability insurance for volunteers?

Kris - Here is Georgia, since the program is a state run volunteer program, all Adopt-A-Stream trainers, advisory board members, and state coordinators are covered by the Georgia Torte Claims Act of 1990. Which means as long as we have a structured program that includes trainer training and trainers submitting workshop participant lists, their liability is covered by the state. This coverage does not extend to volunteers. In our training workshops and manuals we have a whole safety component that tells people to collect sample at a safe, legal site and not to wait in during storm events. From what I have been told if a volunteer goes out and get hurt while voluntarily monitoring they be covered by their own personal insurance.

There is a federal version of the Torte Claims act the covers federal employees too so you may want to check and see as a state program if your state has adopted this act. FYI - Torte Claims Act mean one can not sue a state employee for you are suing the state itself.

Hope this helps. Kim

Kim Morris-Zarneke
Adopt-A-Stream Coordinator
Dept of Natural Resources
Environmental Protection Division
4220 International Parkway, Suite 101
Atlanta, GA 30354
ph: 404-675-1636
fax: 404-675-6245
email: kimberly_morris-zarneke@dnr.state.ga.us
www.riversalive.org/aas.htm

Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 14:15:55 -0500
From: Tim Rielly <Tim.Rielly@mdc.mo.gov>
Subject: Re: [CSREESVolMon] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers?

Since we are a state agency so we are self insured. In the first workshop (they are in a series) we do have them sign a liability waiver in case they stub their toe. We have had no liability issues in the 11
years of this program and work hard to keep it that way.

Tim Rielly
Volunteer Monitoring Coordinator
Missouri Department of Conservation
573-751-4115 ext. 3166

Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 09:53:08 -0400
From: John Murphy <streamwatch@cstone.net>
Subject: [volmonitor] Liabiltiy insurance for volunteers

I think Earth Team could be an option for other monitoring groups who are afilliated with SWCDs.

John Murphy, Director
StreamWatch
streamwatch@cstone.net
office: (434) 923-8642
cell: (434) 242-1145
www.streamwatch.org

Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2005 15:25:39 -0700
From: Eleanor Ely <ellieely@earthlink.net>
Subject: RE:[volmonitor] [Partners] Liability Insurance

The Spring 1996 issue of The Volunteer Monitor newsletter has an article on insurance and waivers. It's probably somewhat out of date but hopefully
still useful. You can find the issue online at www.epa.gov/owow/volunteer/vm_index.html.

Eleanor Ely
Editor, The Volunteer Monitor Newsletter
50 Benton Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
415-334-2284
ellieely@earthlink.net

From: Kevin Erb <kevin.erb@ces.uwex.edu>
Subject: FW: do you have volunteer insurance?
To: kris.stepenuck@ces.uwex.edu
Cc: betty.stibbe@wi.usda.gov, kim.cupery@wi.usda.gov

Insurance protection is available via USDA NRCS's Earth Team volunteer program, which provides workman's comp/tort liability for volunteers over 14 years old. Contact Kim Cupery or Betty Stibbe at NRCS (see email above) for details

Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 23:54:13 +0000
From: Jill Komoto <jlkomoto@yahoo.com>
Subject: [volmonitor] Volunteers and General Liability

Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 17:23:19 -0700
From: Erick Burres <eburres@waterboards.ca.gov>
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Volunteers and General Liability

Jill,
The California CoastKeepers had/has a Kelp Restoration Program that utilized divers. Tom Ford ran the program for Santa Monica (Baykeepers http://www.smbaykeeper.org/). Martin Carreon with Divers Involved Voluntarilty in Environmental Rehabilitation and Safety (http://www.ecodivers.org/) does several activities such as cleanps with divers and Reef Check Reef Check (http://www.reefcheck.org/default.php) conducts bio-surveys with divers.

You can self-subscribe to the Clean Water Team's E-Mailing List. To subscribe visit
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/lyrisforms/swrcb_subscribe.html and check the box marked
Citizen Monitoring Program/Clean Water Team.

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