Case No. RF272-97240
August 15, 1997
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Name of Applicant: Stauffer Chemical Company
Date of Filing: June 27, 1994
Case Number: RF272-97240
This Decision and Order will consider an Application for Refund submitted by the Stauffer Chemical Company (Stauffer). In its application, Stauffer requests a refund from crude oil overcharge funds. These funds are available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.
Stauffer claims a refund for 1,484,226 gallons of refined petroleum products purchased for use in Stauffers Skaneateles Falls facility during the crude oil price control period.(1) As explained below, we will grant the Application.
Formerly, purchasers of refined petroleum products during the crude oil price control period could apply for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds. 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). The DOE collected the crude oil overcharge funds through consent orders with certain 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 procedures that we established for these funds specified that, to receive a refund, an applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes; and (2) show that it incurred injury from alleged crude oil overcharges. An applicant who was an end-user (ultimate
consumer) of petroleum products, whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry, and who was not subject to the price regulations of the DOE or its predecessors, is presumed to have absorbed rather than passed on alleged crude oil overcharges, and is therefore presumed to have been injured. 52 Fed. Reg. 11737 at 11743 (April 10, 1987).
We have also established procedures for identifying the proper recipient of a refund, which derive from our statutory duty to identify and provide restitution to injured persons. 15 U.S.C. § 4502 (b). We would be negligent in discharging that duty if we granted a refund to someone other than an identified injured person. Texaco/Huffy Gas, 22 DOE ¶ 85,220 at 88,586 n. 4. Therefore, the refund procedures provide that the refund generally remains with the owner of a firm during the price control period. Nevertheless, the refund can be transferred to a subsequent owner of the firm if: (i) the firm is a corporation, the entire capital stock of which was purchased by the subsequent owner; or (ii) the firm's assets were sold under an agreement that indicated, either explicitly or implicitly, that potential refunds were being transferred. Mrs. M.B. Troy, 23 DOE ¶ 85,049 (1993).
Stauffer has submitted information describing its corporate history. In March 1987, Stauffers capital stock was acquired by Chesebrough-Ponds. Four months later, in July 1987, Chesebrough- Ponds sold the stock to Imperial Chemicals. Later in 1987, Imperial Chemicals sold parts of Stauffer to other companies. The part including the Skaneateles Falls facility was sold to Rhone- Poulenc in October 1987. According to information submitted by the Applicant, this sale did not transfer the capital stock of Stauffer.
Under our refund procedures, Imperial Chemicals acquired Stauffers refund when it purchased Stauffers capital stock. We find no indication that Imperial Chemicals transferred Stauffers refund when it later disposed of Stauffers assets to other companies. Based on the information submtitted by the Applicant, we find that Imperial Chemicals retained the refund for purchases made by Stauffer.(2)
We have carefully reviewed Stauffers Application. Stauffer determined its gallonage claim by reference to contemporaneous records maintained by its suppliers. We find that these figures are reasonable and accurate. We find further that all Stauffer may claim the presumption of end-user injury. Consequently, Stauffer is entitled to receive its full allocable share of crude oil overcharge funds, which is calculated by multiplying the approved gallonage claim by the volumetric refund amount of $.0016 per gallon. The total volume approved in this Decision and Order is 1,484,226 gallons of refined petroleum products, and the total of the refunds granted is $2,375.
The final deadline for the crude oil refund 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 Stauffer Chemical Company is hereby approved 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 shall take appropriate action to disburse a total of $2,375 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking Claimants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury, to:
Stauffer Chemical Company
c/o Stauffer Management Company
Attn: Michael P. Kelly
P.O. Box 15438
Wilmington, DE 19850-5438
(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the Applicant 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. 20585-0107
(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by the Applicant. These determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the factual basis underlying the 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: August 15, 1997
(1) The crude oil price control period extended from August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981.
(2) The Stauffer corporation was ultimately dissolved by Imperial Chemicals. In 1993, Imperial Chemicals was renamed Zeneca Group. The present application was filed by Stauffer Management Company, a subsidiary of Zeneca Group.