Case No. RF272-96911
December 30, 1998
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications For Refund
Name of Petitioners: City of Aurora, et al.
Dates of Filing: June 16, 1994, et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-96911, et al.
This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants 14 Applications for Refund, releasing a total of $9,072 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The names of the 14 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 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 presumes 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 14 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. 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.(1) The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 5,668,985 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $9,072.
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 each of the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order.
(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 the following address:
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: December 30, 1998
(1)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No interested parties filed comments with respect to any application involved in this determination.
Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF272-96911 CITY OF AURORA C/O BRUCE LAWRIE 44 E. DOWNER PLACE AURORA, IL 60507 2,414,965 $3,864 RF272-96912 CITY OF COMMERCE C/O SUE PORTER 2229 ALAMO COMMERCE, TX 75428 249,545 $399 RF272-96913 ELKINS SCHOOL DIST. C/O JOHN R. SMITH P.O. BOX 322 ELKINS, AR 72727 123,474 $198 RF272-96914 CITY OF SOCORRO C/O JAY SANTILLANES BOX K SOCORRO, NM 87801 486,300 $778 RF272-96916 CITY OF BRIGHTON C/O MS. VIOLA JONES 3700 MAIN ST. BRIGHTON, AL 35020 142,051 $227 RF272-96917 VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE C/O RAYMOND RIGSBY 50 RAUPP BLVD. BUFFALO GROVE, IL 60089 944,880 $1,512 RF272-96918 YAZOO MUN. SEP. SCHOOL DIST. C/O ARTHUR J. CARTLIDGE P.O. BOX 127 YAZOO CITY, MS 39194 58,032 $93 RF272-96919 RANGELY SCHOOL DIST. RE-4 C/O STEVEN W. KRAFT 402 W. MAIN RANGELY, CO 81648 213,796 $342 RF272-96920 CITY OF STEGER C/O PETER SKINGER 35 W. 34TH ST. STEGER, IL 60475 231,739 $371 RF272-96921 KIMBERLY AREA SCHOOL DIST. C/O GARY KVASNICA 217 E. KIMBERLY AVE. KIMBERLY, WI 54136 211,646 $339 RF272-96922 CITY OF SELMA C/O ROBERTA ARAKI 1710 TUCKER ST. SELMA, CA 93662 18,500 $30 RF272-96923 SHELLEY JT. SCHOOL DIST. 60 C/O V. NELSON 545 SEMINARY AVE. SHELLEY, ID 83274 208,320 $333 RF272-96925 SCIO SCHOOL DIST. 095 C/O CECILIA SWIGART 38875 N.W. 1ST AVE. SCIO, OR 97374 237,873 $381 RF272-96926 GLIDDEN-RALSTON COMM SCHOOL DI C/O DALE A. JOHNSON BOX 488 GLIDDEN, IA 51443 127,864 $205 TOTALS: 14 5,668,985 $9,072
Last Updated on 12/14/98
By OHA