Case No. RF272-84721
September 4, 2001
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners:Jackson Parish Police Jury
Winn Parish Police Jury
Dates of Filings: December 3, 1990
Case Numbers: RF272-84721
RF272-84723
This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants two Applications for Refund, releasing a total of $3,929 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. 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 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 the two applicants and determined that each was an end-user of eligible petroleum products.(1) Each of the applicants derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records or by using reasonable estimation techniques.(1) We reduced the purchase volume claimed by Jackson Parish to eliminate 150,000 gallons attributable to hot mix asphalt paving material. The purchaser of that product is not eligible for a refund since any crude oil overcharges were presumably borne by the firm that purchased the liquid asphalt and made the hot mix, which is considered to have been the end-user. After considering each Application carefully, we have concluded that refunds are warranted for the purchase volumes and in the amounts set forth in the Decision.1/(2) The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 2,456,091 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $3,929.(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 below 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. Refund checks totaling $3,929 shall be sent to the applicants at the following addresses:
Jackson Parish Police Jury
c/o Mr. Troy Smith Case No. RF272-84721
Courthouse Building Volume: 1,080,210 gallons
Jonesboro, LA 71251 Refund Amount: $1,728
Winn Parish Police Jury
c/o Karen Carlton Case No. RF272-84723
P.O. Box 951 Volume: 1,375,881 gallons
Winnfield, LA 71483 Refund Amount: $2,201
(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 applications is incorrect.
(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: September 4, 2001
(1)1 Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to any application involved in this determination.