Case No. RF272-19662

September 20, 2001

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Revere Copper Products, Inc., et al.

Date of Filings: December 18, 1987, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-19662, et al.

This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants, in whole or in part, nine Applications for Refund, totaling $92,569 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 nine applicants and determined that each was an end-user of eligible petroleum products. Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records or by using reasonable estimation techniques.(1)

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 57,855,760 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $92,569. (2)

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 after the resolution of a few outstanding enforcement proceedings whether sufficient funds are available for additional refunds.

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 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.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: September 20, 2001

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

(2)One of the nine applicants listed in the Appendix is an agricultural cooperative – Farmers Union Oil Co. (Farmers) Case No. RF272-86936. We regard a refund application filed by a cooperative that resold petroleum products to its members as a claim filed on behalf of the members themselves. Farmers Union Oil Co., 17 DOE ¶ 85,464 at 88,914 (1988). A cooperative can thus claim the presumption of end-user injury to the extent that its members were end-users. Farmers has informed us that five percent of its petroleum product sales were to non-members. Consequently, we have reduced Farmers approved gallonage by five percent to 8,138,065 gallons.

Appendix

CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESSCITY/STATEVOLUME REFUND
RF272-19662REVERE COPPER PRODUCTS, INC.  C/O CHARLES A. HALPIN1 REVERE PARKROME, NY 134405561 21,667,865 $34,669
RF272-75085UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA C/O JAMES HERRINGPO BOX 1663, MS-P119 LOS ALAMOS, NM 87545    9,684,842 $15,496
RF272-75515INGERSOLL RAND  ATTN: ANTHONY BOZZUTO9920 KINCEY, #200 HUNTERSVILLE, NC 28078    9,329,111 $14,927
RF272-85024DANA TRANSPORT SYSTEM, INC.FKA MACHISE INTERSTATE AND MIT TRANSPORT C/O FRANK PERETTI46 MANTUA GROVE PAULSBORO, NJ 080661724 3,792,000 $6,067
RF272-86425RUSH COUNTY C/O MARY ANN BEARD101 E. 2ND ST., COURTHOUSERUSHVILLE, IN 46173    342,105 $547
RF272-86936FARMERS UNION OIL CO.   C/O DOUG LOFFPO BOX 157EDMORE, ND 58330    8,138,065 $13,021
RF272-87602BOGOTA SCHOOL DIST.   C/O BUSINESS ADMIN.1 HENRY C. LUTHIN PLACE BOGOTA, NJ 07603    900,088 $1,440
RF272-98827HOOVER, INC.  C/O GEORGE BRIGHTPO BOX 1700LA VERGNE, TN 37086    3,693,304 $5,909
RF272-98828HOOVER CO., INC.   C/O GEORGE BRIGHTPO BOX 1750LA VERGNE, TN 37086    308,380 $493
TOTALS:9       57,855,760 $92,569