Case No. RF272-96302

September 23, 1998

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Appeal

Name of Petitioners: Carrolton School District, et al.

Dates of Filing: June 10, 1994, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-96302, et al.

This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants 13 Applications for Refund, releasing a total of $25,340 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The names of the 13 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 13 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 15,838,193 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $25,340.

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: September 23, 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 CONTACTSTREET ADDRESSCITY/STATE VOLUMEREFUND
RF272-96302 CARROLLTON SCHOOL DIST.C/O JEN MENDOZA P.O. BOX 517CARROLLTON, MI 48724 12,150 $19
RF272-96306 MCCORMICK COUNTY SCHOOL DIST.C/O DEBBIE SHIFLET 821 N. MINE ST.MCCORMICK, SC 29835 203,856 $326
RF272-96309 LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOL DIST.C/O VAUGHN HIGBEE P.O. BOX 118PANACA, NV 89042 290,592 $465
RF272-96325 EASTON SCHOOL DIST.C/O HELEN JOHNSON LINCOLN, P.O. BOX 359NORTH EASTON, MA 02536 1,914,825 $3,064
RF272-96347 CITY OF SIMI VALLEYC/O CONNIE HENES-BAIRD 2929 TAPO CANYON RD.SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 2,055,917 $3,289
RF272-96350 TOWN OF SHARONC/O BENJAMIN PURITZ 90 S. MAIN ST.SHARON, MA 02067 3,112,819 $4,981
RF272-96359 SPOTSWOOD SCHOOL DIST.C/O STEVEN MAKULOWICH ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICESSPOTSWOOD, NJ 08884 563,241 $901
RF272-96362 TOWNSHIP OF MONTICELLOC/O RONALD D. WOLFE 513 E. LAFAYETTE ST.MONTICELLO, IL 61856 565,715 $905
RF272-96365 MUNISING PUBLIC SCHOOLSC/O PHIL DEGABRIELE P.O. BOX 70MUNISING, MI 49862 192,651 $308
RF272-96366 PIONEER-PLEASANT VALE SCHOOL RT. 1, BOX 219WAUKOMIS, OK 73773 313,737 $502
RF272-96367 CITY OF WESTFIELD, MAC/O JOHN T. CONNIFF 59 COURT ST.WESTFIELD, MA 01085 6,061,461 $9,698
RF272-96368 NEW MEXICO MILITARY INSTITUTEC/O V.R. CHANCEY 101 W. COLLEGE BLVD.ROSWELL, NM 88201 268,274 $429
RF272-96369 PISCATAQUIS COUNTYC/O MARY G. TUMOSA 51 E. MAIN ST.DOVER-FOXCROFT, ME 04426 282,955 $453
TOTALS: 13       15,838,193 $25,340
             


Last Updated on 8/17/98
By OHA