Case No. RK272-02477
March 26, 2001
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Supplemental Order
Names of Petitioners:Morsoritz & Sons of Florida, et al.
Dates of Filing: August 16, 1995, et al.
Case Numbers: RK272-02477, 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 intend to issue a series of Decision and Orders approving supplemental refunds as we receive completed verification forms from all applicants or certifications from their representatives.
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. On the basis of that investigation, we have determined that the parties listed in the Appendix are the proper recipients of those supplemental refunds. (3) The Appendix also indicates the dollar amount of the supplemental refund for each applicant. The total amount of additional refunds being approved in this Order for the benefit of 23 recipients is $35,822.
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 a supplemental refund to each Crude Oil Refund Recipient set forth in the Appendix to this Order.
(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
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585-0107
(4) Any conditions 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 26, 2001
(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.
(3)In a number of instances, we were informed that a firm had been dissolved and that each of the former owners wished to receive an individual refund check. Therefore, each owner was assigned a separate RK272- case number, and the approved volume claim was allocated to each owner based on the percentage of his or her ownership interest. In this Decision, the original RF272-number was assigned several RK272-numbers as follows: RF272-70582 (RK272-03567 and RK272-04987). If there are any future disbursements of crude oil funds, these cases will be known by their RK272-numbers, and refunds will be disbursed based on their current gallonage amounts.
Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT/FIRM STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF NUM RK272-02477 MORSORITZ & SONS OF FLORIDA C/O L.H. MAURER PO BOX 41565 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32203 125,617 $100 RF272-91019 RK272-02614 DARRIEL A. MALLARD 1468 OGEECHEE RD. SYLVANIA, GA 30467 194,779 $156 RF272-69611 RK272-02969 THUMS LONG BEACH CO. C/O DAVE R. FOUST PO BOX 2900 LONG BEACH, CA 90801-2900 3,267,740 $2,614 RF272-76240 RK272-03005 VIRGINIA A. STEAGALL 681 W. SANBORN ST. GALESBURG, IL 61401 307,200 $246 RF272-68103 RK272-03016 INSTITUTE OF PENN. HOSPITAL OR PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL 800 SPRUCE ST. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19107 6,225,821 $4,981 RF272-86029 RK272-03021 LOIS RAAUM BOX 501 CULBERTSON, MT 59218 160,468 $128 RF272-72029 RK272-03035 HUGH R. SOUTHERN 27636 N. 32ND AVE. PHOENIX, AZ 85027 223,200 $179 RF272-70270 RK272-03041 WHEATON, INC. C/O ROSAMOND E. BANGERT 1101 WHEATON AVE. MILLVILLE, NJ 08332 2,711,736 $2,169 RF272-65911 RK272-03045 BILLY JOE RAGLAND PO BOX 129 BENTONIA, MS 39040 174,107 $139 RF272-94212 RK272-03090 ILENE WULFE PO BOX 430 SALEM, SD 57058 1,132,726 $906 RF272-74484 RK272-03096 CHARLES R. HURD PO BOX 3021 PADRE ISLAND, TX 78597 1,965,000 $1,572 RF272-69481 RK272-03158 REEDMAN CORPS. C/O EUGENE F. WHITAKER PO BOX 3004, U.S. RT. 1 LANGHORNE, PA 19047-3004 2,988,557 $2,391 RF272-75579 RK272-03173 ORVILLE BORNBACH EP1223 EQUITY ST. STRATFORD, WI 54484 88,536 $71 RF272-72888 RK272-03193 ERNEST IMEL SHEET METAL WORKS C/O DAVID IMEL 8624 SOUTH ST. FISHERS, IN 46038 181,710 $145 RF272-74259 RK272-03359 MARTIN EXPLORATION MGMT. CO. C/O THOMAS A. FLOYD PO BOX 298 BLUE ISLAND, IL 60406 580,692 $465 RF272-66025 RK272-03567 BERNARD K. CHADD 2707 MARALANE DODGE CITY, KS 67801 114,335 $91 RF272-70582 RK272-03796 ERNEST SCARBOROUGH PO BOX 14553 SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85267 16,275,000 $13,020 RF272-65833 RK272-03912 FARMERS UNION COOP ASSN. C/O LOIS SHUCK PO BOX 687 LAWRENCE, KS 66044 3,994,971 $3,196 RF272-78261 RK272-03938 KENNETH H. HARRIS 1111 MOORESVILLE PIKE COLUMBIA, TN 38401 428,583 $343 RF272-75262 RK272-04102 HANOVER TOWING, INC. C/O W.W. MURRELL JR. PO BOX 1152 WILMINGTON, NC 28402 1,222,220 $978 RF272-77332 RK272-04194 RACINE ELEVATOR CO. C/O PAUL THOMPSON PO BOX 37 RACINE, MN 55967 1,715,843 $1,373 RF272-68114 RK272-04285 ERNEST E. CRAFT 1826 AUTUMN AVE. MEMPHIS, TN 38112 584,620 $468 RF272-92475 RK272-04987 JOYCE B. CHADD 412 BELMONT RD. PRATT, KS 67124 114,335 $91 RF272-70582 TOTALS: 23 44,777,796 $35,822