Case No. RF272-95415

November 13, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Cave Creek Unif. Dist. #93 et al.

Dates of Filings: April 28, 1994 et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-95415 et al.

This Decision and Order will consider the Applications for Refund filed by seven claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). Each applicant has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987) (Berry); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).

In order to receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes; and (2) show that it was injured as a result of the alleged overcharges. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end-users of petroleum products and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges, and generally need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. See also Berry.

In general, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016 per gallon, the volumetric refund amount currently available. We derived the volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).

Each of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order is a local government entity or school district and bought petroleum products to use in its operations. Each applicant has derived its purchase volume claim by using actual records or a reasonable

estimation technique. We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by the applicants, and have determined that the information provided by the applicants sufficiently supports their requests for refunds.(1)

Since the applicants who are granted refunds in this Decision are end-users of refined petroleum products, they are presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and are entitled to receive their full allocable share of the crude oil monies. The refund amounts are calculated by multiplying the approved purchase volumes by the volumetric refund amount of $0.0016 per gallon. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 3,606,629 gallons, and the sum of the refunds granted is $5,770. All of the applicants filed their Applications through Petroleum Funds, Inc., a private filing service. In accordance with these applicants’ requests, their refund checks will be made payable to the applicants “or Petroleum Funds, Inc.” and be sent to Petroleum Funds, Inc.

The final deadline for the crude oil refund proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay crude oil refund claimants at the current rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these 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 Applications for Refund filed by the seven claimants listed in the Appendix attached to this Decision and Order for all available crude oil overcharge funds are 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 from the escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking- Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, the amounts specified in the Appendix to this Decision and Order. The refund checks for the applicants set forth in the Appendix shall be made payable to “[Applicant’s Name] OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.” and shall be sent to the following address: P.O. Box 1380, Paris, TN 38242-9986.

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, each applicant shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change in its 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 material submitted by the applicants. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying a refund application is incorrect.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: November 13, 1997

[Case Nos. RF272-95415 et al.]

APPENDIX

Case No.

Contact

Purchase

Refund

and Applicant

Volume

[Gallons]

______________________________

___________________

___________

___________

RF272-95415

Donna Allen,

335,083

$536

Cave Creek Unif. Dist. #93

Director of Transportation

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

RF272-95427

Dr. Donald Kennedy,

669,600

$1,071

Maynard School District

Business Manager

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

RF272-95450

Gilbert Hermes,

45,384

$73

Lindsay, ISD, TX

Superintendent

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

RF272-95468

Roger Allen,

154,745

$248

Riverview Community Sch. Dist.

Superintendent

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

RF272-95607

J. Stephen Simmons,

824,055

$1,318

Preble County Road and Bridge Fund

County Engineer

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

RF272-95608

J. Stanley Walker,

1,018,981

$1,630

Lincoln County, KS

County Road Supervisor

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

RF272-96450

Michael Gianotis,

558,781

$894

City of Maynard

Town Administrator

OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.

______________________________

___________________

___________

___________

Seven Applicants

3,606,629

$5,770

(1)We reduced the estimated gallonage of one applicant, City of Maynard, Case No. RF272-96450, because it informed us that its claim included the same petroleum product purchases as Maynard School District, Case No. RF272-95427.