Case No. RF272-96911

December 30, 1998

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications For Refund

Name of Petitioners: City of Aurora, et al.

Dates of Filing: June 16, 1994, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-96911, et al.

This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants 14 Applications for Refund, releasing a total of $9,072 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The names of the 14 applicants are set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order. Each Applicant purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 and each has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy pursuant to the Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). Each Applicant relies on the presumption of injury for end-users as the basis for its refund claim. Under this presumption, OHA presumes applicants were injured if they were end-users of petroleum products and were not covered by the DOE or its predecessors’ price controls. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

We have reviewed the information submitted by all 14 applicants and determined that each was an end-user of eligible petroleum products. Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records or by using reasonable estimation techniques. After considering each Application carefully, we have concluded that refunds are warranted for the purchase volumes and in the amounts set forth in the Appendix attached to the Decision.(1) The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 5,668,985 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $9,072.

The final deadline for the crude oil 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 after the resolution of a few outstanding enforcement proceedings whether sufficient funds are available for additional refunds.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Applications for Refund filed by the claimants listed in the Appendix 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 the refund amounts set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to each of the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order.

(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 in its address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to the following address:

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 the 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: December 30, 1998

(1)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No interested parties filed comments with respect to any application involved in this determination.

Appendix
CASE NO.APPLICANT CONTACTSTREET ADDRESSCITY/STATE VOLUMEREFUND
RF272-96911 CITY OF AURORAC/O BRUCE LAWRIE 44 E. DOWNER PLACEAURORA, IL 60507 2,414,965 $3,864
RF272-96912 CITY OF COMMERCEC/O SUE PORTER 2229 ALAMOCOMMERCE, TX 75428 249,545 $399
RF272-96913 ELKINS SCHOOL DIST.C/O JOHN R. SMITH P.O. BOX 322ELKINS, AR 72727 123,474 $198
RF272-96914 CITY OF SOCORROC/O JAY SANTILLANES BOX KSOCORRO, NM 87801 486,300 $778
RF272-96916 CITY OF BRIGHTONC/O MS. VIOLA JONES 3700 MAIN ST.BRIGHTON, AL 35020 142,051 $227
RF272-96917 VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVEC/O RAYMOND RIGSBY 50 RAUPP BLVD.BUFFALO GROVE, IL 60089 944,880 $1,512
RF272-96918 YAZOO MUN. SEP. SCHOOL DIST.C/O ARTHUR J. CARTLIDGE P.O. BOX 127YAZOO CITY, MS 39194 58,032 $93
RF272-96919 RANGELY SCHOOL DIST. RE-4C/O STEVEN W. KRAFT 402 W. MAINRANGELY, CO 81648 213,796 $342
RF272-96920 CITY OF STEGERC/O PETER SKINGER 35 W. 34TH ST.STEGER, IL 60475 231,739 $371
RF272-96921 KIMBERLY AREA SCHOOL DIST.C/O GARY KVASNICA 217 E. KIMBERLY AVE.KIMBERLY, WI 54136 211,646 $339
RF272-96922 CITY OF SELMAC/O ROBERTA ARAKI 1710 TUCKER ST.SELMA, CA 93662 18,500 $30
RF272-96923 SHELLEY JT. SCHOOL DIST. 60C/O V. NELSON 545 SEMINARY AVE.SHELLEY, ID 83274 208,320 $333
RF272-96925 SCIO SCHOOL DIST. 095C/O CECILIA SWIGART 38875 N.W. 1ST AVE.SCIO, OR 97374 237,873 $381
RF272-96926 GLIDDEN-RALSTON COMM SCHOOL DIC/O DALE A. JOHNSON BOX 488GLIDDEN, IA 51443 127,864 $205
TOTALS: 14       5,668,985 $9,072
             


Last Updated on 12/14/98
By OHA