Case No. RF272-86585
December 19, 2001
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: Jefferson County, Washington
Urban Associates
Castle Management
Date of Filings: February 15, 1991, et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-86585
RF272-98918
RG272-00369
This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants, in whole or in part, three Applications for Refund, totaling $36,400 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The names of the 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 (DOE) 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 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 all three applicants and determined that each was an end-user of eligible petroleum products(1)(2). 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. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 22,750,735 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $36,400.
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, as we near the resolution of the remaining pending claims, whether any further payment is to be made.
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 the applicants or their representatives listed in the Appendix.
(3) To facilitate the payment of any 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:
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.
(6) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: December 19, 2001
(1)Castle Management purchased petroleum products during the refund period for a number of rental properties. The Applicant documented its ownership of the buildings but could not provide actual invoices for all purchases. Therefore its total purchases were estimated based on actual documented purchases during a recent year. That figure was multiplied by the number of years (in this case 7.4) in the refund period during which the Applicant purchased covered crude oil products.
(2)Urban Associates purchased petroleum products for multiple rental dwellings. However, the Applicant could not document the ownership of all the rental properties and the refund claim was commensurately reduced. The balance of the claim was estimated based upon the Applicants total purchases during a recent year, multiplied by the number of years (7.4) of eligible purchases during the refund period.
Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF272-86585 JEFFERSON COUNTY, WASHINGTON OR DEPUTY COUNTY COMMISSIONER C/O GARY A. ROWE PO BOX 1220 PORT TOWNSEND, WA 98368 870,193 $1,392 RF272-98918 URBAN ASSOCIATES C/O UTILITY BILL ANALYSIS C/O DENNIS DICEGLIO 486 OCEANPOINT AVE. CEDARHURST, NY 11516 12,282,165 $19,651 RG272-00369 CASTLE MGMT. C/O UTILITY BILL ANALYSIS 486 OCEANPOINT AVE. CEDARHURST, NY 11516 9,598,377 $15,357 TOTALS: 3 22,750,735 $36,400