Case No. RF272-96589

August 31, 2000

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Illinois Road Contractors, Inc.

Dates of Filings: May 31, 1994

Case Numbers: RF272-96589

This Decision and Order will consider the Application for Refund filed by a claimant that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. This applicant 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). This applicant relies on the presumption of injury for end-users as the basis for its refund claim. Under this presumption, OHA will presume 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 this applicant and determined that it was an end- user of eligible petroleum products. (1) This applicant derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records and by using reasonable estimation techniques. After considering this Application carefully, we have concluded that a refund is warranted for the purchase volume. (2)The total volume for which a refund is approved in this Decision is 37,177,498 gallons and the sum of the refund granted is $59,484.

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 determine after the resolution of a few outstanding enforcement proceedings whether sufficient funds are

available for additional refunds.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by the claimant named in this Decision and Order for all available crude oil overcharge funds is 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 the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order. A refund check totaling $59,484 shall be sent to:

Earl L. Forrler

Illinois Road Contractors, Inc.

P.O. Box 666

Jacksonville, IL 62651-0666

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the 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 determination made in this Decision and Order is 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:August 31, 2000

(1)This application under consideration was submitted by a private filing service.

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