Case No. RK272-05676

March 07, 2000

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Supplemental Order

Names of Petitioners: Seaberry-DePaoli Construction Co. et al.

Dates of Filing: February 15, 2000 et al.

Case Numbers: RK272-05676 et al.

This Decision and Order dismisses with prejudice eight supplemental crude oil overcharge refund requests. Each of the requests was filed after the January 31, 2000 deadline.

Refund proceedings concern the petroleum price and allocation controls that were in effect from 1973 to 1981. Through enforcement actions, the agency collected monies that firms had received as the result of violations. In 1979, the DOE promulgated Subpart V of the DOE procedural regulations, which set forth procedures for refunding such monies to injured purchasers. 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V (hereinafter Subpart V), 44 Fed. Reg. 8566 (February 9, 1979). Pursuant to Subpart V, the DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) considers refund applications.

As a result of the foregoing, purchasers of petroleum products during the refund period, 1973 to 1981, were able to file applications for refunds from crude oil overcharge funds. Meritorious crude oil refund applicants are eligible to receive refunds equal to the number of gallons of refined petroleum products they purchased during the refund period multiplied by a per-gallon volumetric refund amount. The volumetric is derived by dividing the crude oil refund monies available by the total consumption of petroleum products in the United States during the period of price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons). The DOE has increased the volumetric as additional crude oil overcharge funds have become available. Initially, the DOE paid successful crude oil applicants at a volumetric of $.0002 per gallon. In 1989, the DOE increased the volumetric to $.0008 per gallon and mailed

supplemental checks to applicants that had been paid at the lower $.0002 per gallon volumetric. In 1995, the DOE increased the volumetric again, to $.0016 per gallon, which is the current volumetric. The DOE notified refund applicants that had been paid at the lower $.0008 per gallon volumetric that they could request a supplemental payment to raise their refund to the $.0016 per gallon volumetric.

In April 1999, the DOE announced a January 31, 2000 deadline for the filing of requests for the supplemental refund announced in 1995, subject only to an exception for small refund applicants, i.e., those applicants with approved purchases of 62,500 gallons or less. The DOE published the notice in the Federal Register, 64 Fed. Reg. 19,998 (April 23, 1999), and on the OHA web site, <http://www.oha.doe.gov>. In the notice, the DOE noted that the crude oil overcharge refund proceeding began in 1987 and that the DOE had granted a total of $597 million to 91,500 recipients. Id. The DOE explained that the January 31, 2000 deadline was a necessary interim step to the completion of the crude oil overcharge refund proceeding and the determination of any final payment. Id. at 19,999.

In May and June 1999, the DOE mailed notice of the January 31, 2000 deadline to all affected applicants at the address listed in the OHA data base. In that notice, the DOE explained that applicants who failed to failure a supplemental refund request by that date would forfeit the right to any further payment from the crude oil overcharge fund.

The eight applicants listed in the Appendix to this decision filed their requests for a supplemental refund after the January 31, 2000 deadline. Accordingly, the eight applicants did not file timely requests and, therefore, are not entitled to any further payment from the crude oil overcharge fund.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The applications for supplemental crude oil refunds listed in the Appendix to this Decision be dismissed with prejudice.

(2) The Office of Hearings and Appeals database be revised to reflect that the applicants in the Appendix to this Decision and Order did not file a timely request for the supplemental refund announced in 1995.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: March 07, 2000

APPENDIX

Seaberry-DePaoli Construction Co. et al.

RK272-05676 et al.

Case No. Applicant

RK272-05676 Seaberry-DePaoli Construction Co.

c/o Del Handy, Esq.

96 Winter Street

Reno, NV 89503

RK272-05677 Behrman Farms, Inc.

c/o Wesley Behrman

38030 NW Mountaindale Rd.

Banks, OR 97106

RK272-05679 Stanley Scott

1575 N. CR. 2300

Carthage, IL 62321

RK272-05680 Wiley Osborn

Box 396

Elkhart, KS 67950

RK272-05681 Jeanette Kennedy

c/o Jeffrey Graves

PO Box 70

Durant, IA 52747-0070

RK272-05682 Steve Borso

14609 Milan Oakville Rd.

Milan, MI 48160

RK272-05683 Roger Fust

E481 S. Highland Rd.

Ringle, WI 54471

RK272-05684 Joe Clemence

2541 Jeep Rd.

Abilene, KS 67410