Case No. RG272-00012

April 23, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Applicant:Roy Anderson Paint Company

Date of Filing: January 9, 1995

Case Number: RG272-12

This Decision and Order will consider the Application for Refund filed by Roy Anderson Paint Company (Anderson). The application is based upon Anderson’s purchases of refined petroleum products during the crude oil price control period (August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981). Anderson has requested a refund from crude oil funds available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

In the past, purchasers of refined petroleum products have been allowed to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders between the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85, 495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).

The refund procedures specify that in order to receive a refund, an Applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by alleged crude oil overcharges. Applicants who were end-users of petroleum products, however, and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges. These Applicants need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

In general, an applicant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by the volumetric refund amount. Currently, the volumetric refund amount is $.0016 per gallon.

We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by Anderson and we have determined that the information provided by it sufficiently supports its Applications for Refund.

Anderson’s gallonage claim consists of 19,800 gallons of toluene, 180,000 gallons of mineral spirits, 29,700 gallons of naphthas, 696,495 gallons of solvents, 90,000 gallons of ethylene glycol, and 34,650 gallons of methanol. The Office of Hearings and Appeals has adopted a standard for considering the products for which an applicant can claim a refund in this proceeding. In a Notice published in the Federal Register on July 10, 1992, we announced that we would accept applications based on products that were either (a) designated as covered products in regulations promulgated pursuant to the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 (EPAA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 751-760; (b) purchased from a crude oil refinery; or (c) originated in a crude oil refinery and purchased from a reseller who did not substantially change the products' form. Toluene, naphthas, and solvents are considered covered products under the EPAA. The DOE has previously found that mineral spirits are considered solvents and are therefore eligible products in this proceeding. B-B Paint Corp., 17 DOE ¶ 85,393 (1988). Ethylene glycol and methanol, however, are not listed as covered products.

The DOE has previously denied refunds to applicants claiming purchases of methanol and ethylene glycol. See Yenkin Majestic Paint Corp., 21 DOE ¶ 85,173 (1991); Federal-Hoffman, Inc., 20 DOE ¶ 85,619 (1990). Anderson has not presented any arguments to show why it should receive a refund for purchases of these two products. Therefore, we do not believe that Anderson has shown that it is eligible for a refund based on its methanol and ethylene glycol purchases.

We find that Anderson was an end-user of toluene, mineral spirits, naphthas and solvents. Accordingly, it is presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and is entitled to receive its full allocable share of the crude oil funds. The total volume approved in this Decision is 925,995 gallons, and the refund granted is $1,482.

The final deadline for the crude oil proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay eligible crude oil refund applicants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for this and other successful applicants when we are better able to determine how much additional money will be collected from firms that have either outstanding obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases currently in litigation.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by Roy Anderson Paint Company is hereby granted as set forth in Paragraph (2) below.

(2) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy (the Director), shall take appropriate action to disburse $1,482 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking-Applicants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of Treasury to “Roy Anderson Paint Company, c/o Ronald Anderson, P.O. Box 2540, King’s Beach, CA, 96143.”

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, Anderson shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to:

Director of Management Information

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20585

(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by Anderson. Any of these determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any Application for Refund is incorrect.

(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: April 23, 1997