Case No. RF272-79197
March 3, 1998
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: City of Rensselaer Electric Dept. et al.
Dates of Filing: July 30, 1990 et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-79197 et al.
This Decision and Order will consider 26 Applications for Refund that were submitted by purchasers of refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). These applicants have requested refunds from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the OHA's authority under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. The names of the claimants and the volumes of refined petroleum products that they purchased are set forth in the Appendices to this Decision.
This refund proceeding was instituted to allow purchasers of refined petroleum products during the price control period to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy in Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We 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 crude oil 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 set forth in these cases 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. 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 not covered by the DOE's or its predecessors' price controls are presumed to have been injured.
Generally, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016. We derived this 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 claimants has submitted all of the information required of crude oil applicants.(1) Specifically, they have all submitted actual or estimated volume claims, and documentation for those claims. We have thoroughly examined the information submitted, and we conclude that the estimation techniques used are reasonable and that the volumes claimed reflect accurately the applicants purchases. We will therefore approve the applicants gallonage claims.
The claimants purchased their refined petroleum products for use in businesses that are unrelated to the petroleum industry and did not resell those products. They are therefore end-users of refined petroleum products and are presumed to have been injured by the crude oil overcharges. Accordingly, the applicants are entitled to receive their full allocable shares of the crude oil monies.
The refund amount granted to each applicant is set forth in the Appendices to this Decision and Order. The total volume approved in this Decision is 70,129,644 gallons of refined petroleum products, and the total of the refunds granted is $112,207.
The final deadline for applications in the crude oil refund proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay eligible crude oil refund claimants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for this applicant 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 claimants listed in the Appendices 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 a total of $112,207 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking - Claimants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury to the applicants set forth in the Appendices to this Decision and Order. The refund checks for the applicants set forth in Appendix A shall be remitted to those applicants at the addresses set forth in that Appendix. The refund checks for the applicants set forth in Appendix B shall be made payable to [Applicants Name] or McMickle & Edwards, and shall be sent to the following address: P.O. Box 221145, Memphis, TN 38122.
(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicants 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 applicants. These determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any 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: March 3, 1998
(1) Interested parties were provided with an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to the applications considered in this Decision.
Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF272-79197 CITY OF RENSSELAER ELEC. DEPT. C/O FREDA BRETSINGER OR REFUND CONSULTANTS P.O. BOX 1380 PARIS, TN 382429986 7,070,478 $11,313 RF272-79534 PATTERSON JOINT UNIFIED C/O KEITH DANIEL OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC. P.O. BOX 1380 PARIS, TN 382429986 686,678 $1,099 RF272-79577 H.B. RANIER CONSTRUCTION CO. OR PHYLLIS RANIER 212 N. ARNOLD AVE. PRESTONSBURG, KY 41653 1,139,807 $1,824 RF272-80909 CNY CENTRO, INC. C/O STEVE JOHNSON OR REFUND CONSULTANTS P.O. BOX 1380 PARIS, TN 382429986 8,325,174 $13,320 RF272-80910 WINTHROP M. MAYO JR. OR REFUND CONSULTANTS P.O. BOX 1380 PARIS, TN 382429986 96,854 $155 RF272-80911 CITY OF DEER PARK C/O DAVID S. WALKER OR REFUND CONSULTANTS P.O. BOX 1380 PARIS, TN 382429986 1,091,941 $1,747 RF272-82725 T.M.C. PROPERTIES C/O PASQUALE LUONGO 90 BROAD ST. NEW YORK, NY 10004 2,391,992 $3,827 RF272-94849 BROTHERS FOOD, INC. C/O T.B. HERRING JR. OR WILSON, KELLER & ASSOCIATES P.O. BOX 221145 MEMPHIS, TN 38122 1,351,549 $2,162 Totals: 8 22,154,473 $35,447 CASE NO. APPLICANT FIRM CONTACT VOLUME REFUND RF272-79582 PETROLEUM TANK LINE OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O C.H. MOORE JR. 771,406 $1,234 RF272-79583 NORTH ALABAMA EXPRESS, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O ROBERT LAYMAN 2,861,657 $4,579 RF272-79584 WEISS TRUCKING CO., INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O BERNARD WEISS 4,219,343 $6,751 RF272-79588 DOTSETH TRUCK LINE, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O DALE BABBIT 4,234,969 $6,776 RF272-79589 MIDWAY MOTOR FREIGHT LINES INC OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O WINFRED ROBERTSON 3,203,641 $5,126 RF272-80897 FINDLAY TRUCK LINE INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O RICHARD RUEHLE 1,875,363 $3,001 RF272-80900 GIRTON BROS. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O DON GIRTON 1,929,507 $3,087 RF272-80903 PASHA TRUCKWAY OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O STEVE HUNTER 3,112,144 $4,979 RF272-80905 HANDY TRUCK LINE, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O CLAY HANDY 3,226,726 $5,163 RF272-80907 D.J. KING OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O DAVID BEAUMAN 3,551,766 $5,683 RF272-83149 EXPRESS TRANSPORT CO., INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O GREG BACK 1,678,353 $2,685 RF272-83151 BODGE LINES, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O FRANK PRICE 1,995,822 $3,193 RF272-83152 STRANG TRANSPORTATION, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O L. STANLEY STRANG 1,797,098 $2,875 RF272-83154 INTER-CITY TRANSPORT & MOTOR OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O WARREN L. TURNER 1,205,475 $1,929 RF272-83158 GARNER TRUCKING INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O VERNON GARNER 4,128,719 $6,606 RF272-84299 INDIANA TRANSIT SERVICE, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O JERRY NOEL 2,708,520 $4,334 RF272-84300 WOODLINE MOTOR FREIGHT, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O ROBERT WOOD 3,031,558 $4,850 RF272-84301 OVER-NITE MOTOR SERVICE, INC. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDS C/O THOMAS MOHR 2,443,104 $3,909 Totals: 18 47,975,171 $76,760
Last Updated on 3/4/98