Case No. RK272-02030

March 21, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Supplemental Order

Names of Petitioners:Toys “R” Us, Inc., et al.,

Dates of Filing: July 27, 1995, et al.

Case Numbers: RK272-02030, et al.

Pursuant to the long-standing policy of the Department of Energy (DOE), thousands of purchasers of petroleum products have applied for, and been granted, refunds from crude oil overcharge funds under jurisdiction of the DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). See Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy To Be Implemented In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). The standards for considering Applications for Refund from these crude oil funds are set forth at 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

The OHA has approved more than 87,000 requests for refund from the pool of crude oil overcharge funds. In Subpart V crude oil refund cases, a claimant is generally eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products it purchased during the period from August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981, multiplied by a per gallon amount. That per gallon refund amount is derived by dividing the total refund monies available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the crude oil price control period. Refunds had been calculated by multiplying the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products purchased by the applicant by $0.0008 (the volumetric factor). That volumetric factor had been in use since April 1989, when it replaced an earlier volumetric factor of $0.0002 per gallon. Any applicant who received a refund at the lower volumetric factor has also received a supplemental refund based on an additional $0.0006 per gallon. See Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution, 18 DOE ¶ 85,878 (1989).

Additional crude oil overcharge funds have become available for disbursement and we can now issue additional refund checks to applicants. Sufficient funds are available to pay applicants at a new, aggregate rate of $0.0016 per gallon.(1)Thus, the amount of the supplemental refund will be equal to the refund already received. Refunds are rounded to the nearest dollar.

In order to receive a supplemental refund check, applicants are being required to verify (directly or through their representatives) that their name and address in our records are correct, to correct any information that is not accurate, and to indicate whether there has been any change in circumstances affecting the payment of the refund. We intend to issue a series of Decision and Orders approving supplemental refunds as we receive completed verification forms from all applicants or certifications from their representatives.

The Appendix to this Decision and Order contains the names and addresses of a group of recipients receiving these supplemental refund checks. In each case, we were informed that there had been a change of circumstances since the previous refund was disbursed. Accordingly, we set up a new case file (designated RK272-)(2) and investigated whether the individual or firm that submitted the verification form (or upon whose behalf the form was submitted) was the proper party to receive the supplemental refund. On the basis of that investigation, we have determined that the parties listed in the Appendix are the proper recipients of those supplemental refunds. The Appendix also indicates the dollar amount of the supplemental refund for each applicant. The total amount of additional refunds being approved in this Order for the benefit of 11 recipients is $2,823.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) 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 supplemental refund to each Crude Oil Refund Recipient set forth in the Appendix to this Order.

(2) The funds shall be disbursed from the escrow fund denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury.

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, an 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

Washington, D.C. 20585-0107

(4) Any conditions imposed that applied to an applicant's receipt of the initial crude oil refund shall also apply to that applicant's receipt of this supplemental refund.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: March 21, 1997

(1)We are now paying first-time crude oil refund recipients at the volumetric rate of $0.0016 per gallon.

(2)The new case number, RK272-, replaces the case number (designated RF272-) which had formerly been assigned to each application. For all future purposes, the application will be known by the new case number.


Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT/FIRM STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF NUM
RK272-02030 TOYS "R" US, INC. C/O STEVE TAPLITS 395 W. PASSAIC ST. ROCHELLE PARK, NJ 07662 610,327 $488 RF272-52722
RK272-02077 MARGARET S. STRINGER BOX 22 MEDICINE LAKE, MT 59247 113,326 $91 RF272-49304
RK272-02104 SAM & BARBARA JORDAN 8255 W. BUCKSKIN RD. POCATELLO, ID 83201 182,368 $146 RF272-63238
RK272-02603 J.B. WILSON 219 CROOKED BAYOU TILLAR, AR 71670 230,016 $184 RF272-39994
RK272-02606 SCHUMAKER'S FAMILY FARM, INC. C/O LAUREL SCHUMAKER 13343 392ND AVE. ABERDEEN, SD 57401 194,779 $156 RF272-31061
RK272-02609 HARDY-ELOWSKY & SONS C/O HARDY ELOWSKY 17923 N. CNTY RD. 459 HILLMAN, MI 49746 188,010 $150 RF272-40610
RK272-03316 BIG MAC FARM C/O DON MCCASLAND 7057 CNTY RD. 40 YUMA, CO 80759 755,400 $604 RF272-60245
RK272-03317 FRANK STEGER 7355 170TH AVE., S.E. WAHPETON, ND 58075 187,519 $150 RF272-53201
RK272-03597 LEE MARTIN RR 2, BOX 167B OBERLIN, KS 67749 414,108 $331 RF272-49355
RK272-03598 ALVIN B. CROCKER P.O. BOX 431 MADRAS, OR 97741 211,855 $169 RF272-54677
RK272-03610 TRIPLE A FARMS C/O BRUCE E. ALGRIM 15835 E. HWY. 156 GARDEN CITY, KS 67846 442,680 $354 RF272-48983
Totals: 11       3,530,388 $2,823  
               


Last Updated on 7/24/97
By OHA