Case No. RR300-00260

December 11,1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Motion for Reconsideration

Name of Movant: Gulf Oil Corp. / Arrow Lakes Dairy

Date of Filing: October 11, 1994

Case Number: RR300-00260

The Office of Hearings and Appeals denied an Application for Refund submitted by A.B. Munroe Dairy, Inc., (Munroe) in the Gulf Oil Corporation overcharge refund proceeding. In that Application, Munroe claimed a refund for purchases of Gulf products made by a separate corporation, Arrow Lakes Dairy, Inc., (Arrow Lakes). We found that Munroe, which bought the assets of Arrow Lakes, was not the proper recipient of the refund that would be due to Arrow Lakes. Gulf Oil Corp. / Arrow Lakes Dairy, Case No. RF300-15606, (August 11, 1994).

This Motion was filed by two former officers and stockholders of Arrow Lakes, Harold Shippee and Gerard Camerlin. As explained below, we will deny the Motion.

As an initial matter, it is important to note that the original Application was submitted by Munroe. Neither Arrow Lakes , Mr. Shippee, nor Mr. Camerlin were parties to the original Application. As we have previously stated, an application consists of a specified party's claim, and an application by additional or competing parties is considered a new application. Gulf Oil Corp./ Walnut Creek Gulf, 26 DOE ¶ 85,097 (1996). Thus, the present Motion is not actually a Motion for Reconsideration by Arrow Lakes, but rather a new Application by Mr. Shippee and Mr. Camerlin.

Moreover, the deadline for the submission of Gulf applications was March 1, 1993. 57 Fed. Reg. 27771 (June 22, 1992). This Motion was filed in October 1994, more than eighteen months after the deadline. We are required by the Petroleum Overcharge Distibution and Refund Act, to expeditiously complete the direct restitution phase and disburse the remaining funds for indirect restitution. 15 U.S.C. § 4502(b)(1). In order to meet that requirement, we have consistently declined to consider applications in the Gulf overcharge refund proceeding submitted after the deadline. E.g., Gulf Oil Corp. / Hinds Gulf, 25 DOE ¶ 85,025 (1995); Gulf Oil Corp. / New York Telephone Co., 23 DOE ¶ 85,161 (1993). We see no reason to depart from our previous determinations in this case. Since this Motion represents a new Application filed after the deadline, we will deny it.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Motion for Reconsideration filed on behalf of Arrow Lakes Dairy, Case No. RF300-00260, is hereby denied.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: December 11, 1997