Case No. RK272-05263
March 07, 2000
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Supplemental Order
Names of Petitioners: Castwell Products, Inc. et al.
Dates of Filing: June 25, 1999 et al.
Case Numbers: RK272-05263 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 have issued a series of Decision and Orders approving supplemental refunds as we received completed verification forms from all applicants or certifications from their representatives. We further note that last year, we announced a deadline of January 31, 2000 for all applicants entitled to a supplemental refund of $50 or more to submit completed verification forms. 64 Fed. Reg. 19,998 (April 23, 1999).
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.
In one instance, Ernest Construction Co., Case No. RF272-50501, we were informed that the firm was owned by a partnership and one of the partners had passed away, thus dissolving the partnership. The other partner is entitled to a refund based on the percentage of his interest in the partnership at the time of dissolution, 51 percent. In another instance, A.J. Contello Housing Co., Inc., Case No. RF272-49675, we were informed that two of the four buildings comprising the original company were spun off into a new corporation, Waterview Towers, Inc (Waterview). We have therefore chosen to reduce Waterview's refund by 50 percent. Finally, in a third instance, Barnett Feed Yard (Barnett), Case No. RF272-93470, we were informed that the company had dissolved in bankruptcy. At that time, Bess Langennegger owned half of Barnett and we are therefore granting her half the supplemental refund.
If there are any future disbursements of crude oil funds, these cases will be known by their RK272- numbers and the refunds will be calculated on the adjusted gallonage amounts. The Appendix to this Decision and Order indicates the dollar amount of the supplemental refund granted to each applicant. The total amount of additional refunds being approved in this Order for the benefit of 29 recipients is $16,343.
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 supplemental refunds totaling $16,343 to the 29 Crude Oil Refund Recipients at the addresses and in the amounts specified in the Appendix to this Decision.
(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 07, 2000
(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 RK272-05263 CASTWELL PRODUCTS, INC. C/O LEONARD BRANDT 7800 N. AUSTIN AVE. SKOKIE, IL 60772675 356,031 $285 RF272-51782 RK272-05269 ROYAL REALTY CORP. C/O PAUL PICCININNI 1155 AVE. OF AMERICAS, 9TH FL. NEW YORK, NY 10036 2,760,766 $2,209 RF272-53749 RK272-05271 EMR, INC. C/O DONALD H. LAAG 3792 PLATT SPRINGS RD. W. COLUMBIA, SC 29169 268,620 $215 RF272-51798 RK272-05272 OHIO CAST PRODUCTS, INC. C/O WILLIAM GAYNOR 2408 13TH ST., N.E. CANTON, OH 44705 125,094 $100 RF272-49908 RK272-05277 PACKAGING CORP. OF AMERICA C/O LESLIE H. ROCKEY 114 DIXIE BLVD. MORGANTON, NC 28655 1,338,773 $1,071 RF272-09390 RK272-05278 WATERVIEW TOWERS, INC. C/O LEONARD FIER 2630 CROPSEY AVE. BROOKLYN, NY 11214 678,750 $543 RF272-49675 RK272-05291 ISAACSON LUMBER CO. C/O JAMES ISAACSON PARK ST., PO BOX L LIVERMORE FALLS, ME 04254 568,000 $454 RF272-50907 RK272-05293 BICC GENERAL CABLE INDUSTRIES C/O CAROL ROSENBLATT 1600 W. MAIN ST., PO BOX 229 WILLIMANTIC, CT 06226 265,003 $212 RF272-73960 RK272-05313 NEL CORP., LLC C/O JAMES W. EGAN 83 EAST AVE., #107 NORWALK, CT 06851 187,313 $150 RF272-65789 RK272-05314 HAWTHORNE TOWERS C/O JOHN E. PAKENHAM, JR. PO BOX 6013 N. BRUNSWICK, NJ 08902 954,568 $764 RF272-66558 RK272-05316 CHURCHILL DISTRIBUTIONS, LLC C/O GEORGE W. LEE 7621 ENERGY PKWY. BALTIMORE, MD 21226 225,307 $180 RF272-93098 RK272-05327 ERNEST CONSTRUCTION, LLC C/O WALTER C. ERNEST, III 1814 OLD SHELL RD. MOBILE, AL 36607 378,024 $302 RF272-50501 RK272-05333 PINNACLE BANK-OAK PARK C/O G.M. CORTILETTI 840 S. OAK PARK AVE. OAK PARK, IL 60304 160,436 $128 RF272-53937 RK272-05335 EMPIRE BUILDERS SUPPLY C/O JAMES E. HEINRICH 2255 BAILEY AVE. BUFFALO, NY 142111798 221,345 $177 RF272-92970 RK272-05352 DURACRAFT C/O A. KENT HITES 110 W. OAK ST. GILLESPIE, IL 62033 414,825 $332 RF272-50505 RK272-05353 SILVER CITY ALUMINUM C/O RON XAVIER 704 W. WATER ST. TAUNTON, MA 02780 345,698 $277 RF272-51793 RK272-05366 SILGAN CONTAINERS CORPORATION C/O LASHELLE WILSON 21800 OXNARD ST., #600 WOODLAND HILLS, CA 91367 132,738 $106 RF272-66457 RK272-05368 CRUST BUSTER/SPEED KING, INC. C/O DONALD F. HORNUNG PO BOX 1438 DODGE CITY, KS 67801 91,593 $73 RF272-92886 RK272-05395 TNT/LC C/O WILLIAM D. TUCKER JR. 3815 SHERINGHAM PL. LYNCHBURG, VA 24503 144,951 $116 RF272-93077 RK272-05416 MASTERBRAND CABINETS, INC. C/O DAN WAKEFIELD 550 S.E. MILL ST. GRANTS PASS, OR 97526 217,880 $174 RF272-93626 RK272-05470 A.S. HERLONG PACKING CO., INC C/O CARL J. NEITZKE PO BOX 99 LABELLE, FL 33975 211,598 $169 RF272-93078 RK272-05476 FOX RIVER PAPER CO. C/O STEPHAN P. MONFORT 700 W. COURT ST. URBANA, OH 43078 419,119 $335 RF272-50519 RK272-05525 FORSTER, INC. C/O CLINT BRACKLEY PO BOX 657 WILTON, ME 04294 923,327 $739 RF272-53585 RK272-05551 DEE DICKS 875 RD. 5 POWELL, WY 82435 195,273 $156 RF272-93422 RK272-05606 SCOT FORGE CO. C/O MICHAEL KLINGENBERG BOX 8 SPRING GROVE, IL 60081 3,344,612 $2,676 RF272-53847 RK272-05607 BESS LANGENNEGGER PO BOX 3145 ROSWELL, NM 88202 120,434 $96 RF272-93470 RK272-05618 RAY A. SCHULTZ PO BOX 342 LARIMORE, ND 58251 188,600 $151 RF272-52260 RK272-05620 CENTRIA C/O DON GRECO 1005 BEAVER GRADE RD. MOON TOWNSHIP, PA 15108 3,616,015 $2,893 RF272-65774 RK272-05628 Y.E. HALL, INC. C/O T. E. WILSON PO BOX 26329 JACKSONVILLE, FL 322266329 1,575,000 $1,260 RF272-65744 TOTALS: 29 20,429,693 $16,343