Case No. RF272-79088

April 05, 2001

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Dixon Lumber Co. Plywood Division, et al.

Dates of Filings: July 30, 1990, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-79088, et al.

This Decision and Order will consider 15 Applications for Refund that were submitted by purchasers of refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). These applicants have requested refunds from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the OHA's authority under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. The names of the claimants and the volumes of refined petroleum products that they purchased are set forth in the Appendices to this Decision.

This refund proceeding was instituted to allow purchasers of refined petroleum products during the price control period to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy in Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the crude oil price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).

The refund procedures set forth in these cases specify that in order to receive a refund, an applicant generally must (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by alleged crude oil overcharges. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end-users of petroleum products and whose businesses were not covered by the DOE's or its predecessors' price controls are presumed to have been injured. Generally, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016. We derived this volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).

Each of the claimants has submitted all of the information required of crude oil applicants.(1) Specifically, they have all submitted actual or estimated volume claims, and documentation for those claims. We have thoroughly examined the information submitted, and we conclude that the estimation techniques used are reasonable and that the volumes claimed reflect accurately the applicants’ purchases. (2) We will therefore approve the applicants’ claims based on the volumes set forth in the Appendices.

The claimants purchased their refined petroleum products for use in businesses that are unrelated to the petroleum industry and did not resell those products. They are therefore end-users of refined petroleum products and are presumed to have been injured by the crude oil overcharges. Accordingly, the applicants are entitled to receive their full allocable shares of the crude oil monies. The refund amount granted to each applicant is set forth in the Appendices to this Decision and Order. The total volume approved in this Decision is 36,571,646 gallons of refined petroleum products, and the total of the refunds granted is $58,514.

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 Appendices 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 Appendices 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. The refund checks for the applicants listed in Appendix A shall be sent to the addresses listed in that Appendix. The checks for the applicants listed in Appendix B shall be made payable to “[applicant’s name] or McMickle and Edwards,” and shall be sent to the following address: P.O. Box 221145, Memphis, Tennessee, 38122.

(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: April 05, 2001

(1) Interested parties were provided with an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to the applications considered in this Decision.

(2) One of the applicants, Safeway Inc., Case No. RF272-93713, claimed a total purchase volume of 222,656,327 gallons. However, because this application is a duplicate of one that was previously granted (Case No. RF272-23663), we have reduced Safeway’s gallonage claim to 1,006,352. This represents Safeway’s purchases of propane and liquid asphalt during the refund period. These two products were not included in Safeway’s earlier claim.

Appendix

CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESSCITY/STATEVOLUME REFUND
RF272-79088DIXON LUMBER CO. PLYWOOD DIVOR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC. C/O JOE MCCRACKINPO BOX 1380PARIS, TN 38242 3,874,202 $6,199
RF272-79106U.S. PFO FOR CALIFORNIA OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC. C/O MAJOR DON D. COLTPO BOX 1380PARIS, TN 38242 884,306 $1,415
RF272-79120INTERNATIONAL DRILLING & ENRGY C/O R.K. HORTONPO BOX 3251MIDLAND, TX 79702 2,675,620 $4,281
RF272-79427GOLETA UNION ELEMENTARY  C/O KEN SHIMABUKU401 N. FAIRVIEW AVE. GOLETA, CA 93117 227,904 $365
RF272-80913KARBO BRONZE C/O MATTHEW X. HENNESSYPO BOX 105BROOKLYN, NY 11231 133,131 $213
RF272-93713SAFEWAY, INC.  C/O R.A. DYERTAX DIVISIONOAKLAND, CA 94660 1,006,352 $1,610
RF272-93745BUSINESS AVIATION, INC.   C/O DALE FROEHLICH3501 N. AVIATION AVE. SIOUX FALLS, SD 57104 3,231,403 $5,170
RF272-94846R.G. POPE CONSTRUCTION CO.OR WILSON, KELLER & ASSOCIATES C/O RONALD POPEPO BOX 221145MEMPHIS, TN 38122 1,703,345 $2,725
RF272-94879ARA SERVICESOR WILSON, KELLER & ASSOCIATES C/O JAMES R. WELLSPO BOX 221145MEMPHIS, TN 38122 8,362,618 $13,380
TOTALS:9       22,098,881 $35,358
           
           
CASE NO.APPLICANTFIRMCONTACTVOLUMEREFUND 
RF272-79586ATLANTA MOTOR LINES, INC.OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDSC/O ED LOPENHABER2,922,696$4,676 
RF272-80898MIRRER TRUCKING CO. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDSC/O WILLIAM MIRRER1,828,739$2,926 
RF272-80902REFINERS TRANSPORT SERVICE INC OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDSC/O M. BATES OR L. KLUMPP3,428,645$5,486 
RF272-80906WAR-HUNT TRUCKING CO. INC.OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDSC/O RICHARD GEORGE1,879,297$3,007 
RF272-83155DAL HAR DISTRIBUTING CO.OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDSC/O JEANNE DELAY2,219,429 $3,551 
RF272-84302HAUSER TRUCKING CORP. OR MCMICKLE & EDWARDSC/O MARK HAUSER2,193,959 $3,510 
TOTALS:6  14,472,765$23,156