Case No. RF272-85019

August 31, 1998

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners:Ainsworth Van Lines, Inc., et al.

Dates of Filing: December 31, 1990, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-85019, et al.

This Decision and Order grants to 24 Applicants refunds in the Subpart V crude oil special refund proceeding. The names of these claimants are set forth in the Appendices to this Decision and Order. Each Applicant purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period).

In the past, purchasers of refined petroleum products could apply for refunds from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE from firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986); 10 C.F.R. Part 205. The Office of Hearings and Appeals has established refund procedures for these funds. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987).

The refund procedures presume applicants were injured if they were end-users of petroleum products and were not covered by the DOE's or its predecessors' price controls. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987). The Applicants in this case are end-users of refined petroleum products.(1) The Applicants claim, based upon estimates and actual records, that they purchased a total of 138,451,370 gallons of petroleum products during the period of price controls.(2)

Each Applicant used these products to operate a school, county, cooperative, or business. After considering each Application, we have concluded that the claimed volumes are accurate and a total refund of $221,522 is warranted. The amount each Applicant will receive is listed in the Appendices to the Decision and Order. It is the policy of the DOE to pay all crude oil refund claims that were filed by June 30, 1995, the final deadline for the crude oil proceeding, at the rate of $.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these and other successful applicants when we know how much money is remaining after all outstanding enforcement proceedings are resolved.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Applications for Refund filed by the 24 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 a total of $221,522 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking - Claimants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury. The checks for the Applicants listed on Appendix A shall be made payable to the Applicants and shall be sent to the addresses listed on the Appendix. The checks for the Applicants listed on Appendix B shall be made payable to "[Applicant] or Petroleum Funds, Inc.” and sent to:

Petroleum Funds, Inc.

P. O. Box 1380

Paris, TN 38242-9986

The checks for the Applicants listed on the Appendix C shall be made payable to “[Applicant] or Energy Refunds, Inc.,” and sent to:

Energy Refunds, Inc.

31 Small Lane

Hardin, KY 42048

(3) Each applicant in this case that is a cooperative shall pass through to its members/patrons the refund it receives on a dollar for dollar basis.

(4) 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 of 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

(5) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by the Applicants. These determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any refund application is incorrect.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: August 31, 1998

(1)A number of the applicants in this case are cooperatives. Applications filed by cooperatives are deemed to have been filed on behalf of the members to whom they sold petroleum products. Each of the cooperatives in this case has certified that it will pass through any refund it receives to its members on a dollar for dollar basis. Under these circumstances, the cooperatives in this case are entitled to the end-user presumption of injury.

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

APPENDIX
CASE NO.APPLICANT CONTACTSTREET ADDRESSCITY/STATE VOLUMEREFUND
RF272-85019 AINSWORTH VAN LINES, INC.C/O MARVIN AINSWORTH 1131 ENTERPRISE AVE. #7OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73128 902,323 $1,444
RF272-85505 THEO BROS. CONSTRUCTION CO.C/O JOE THEO P.O. BOX 246WOODRUFF, SC 29388 2,123,024 $3,397
RF272-89012 AIR-VOL BLOCKC/O RICHARD AYERS P.O. BOX 931SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93406 189,988 $304
RF272-89401 GUIDA SEIBERT DAIRYC/O MICHAEL YOUNG 433 PARK ST.NEW BRITAIN, CT 06050 1,208,432 $1,933
RF272-89407 DURON, INC.C/O MIKE HANLON 10605 TUCKER ST.BELTSVILLE, MD 20705 9,821,223 $15,714
RF272-89460 SCOTT BANKS TRUCKING INC.C/O KIRK E. BANKS P.O. BOX 352CANDLER, NC 28715 769,698 $1,232
RF272-89463 TEMSCO HELICOPTERS, INC.C/O NANCY PREGNALL P.O. BOX 5057KETCHIKAN, AK 99901 2,381,504 $3,810
RF272-89553 STEVE LUDWIG 6419 JAY ST.ARVADA, CO 80003 112,500 $180
RF272-89654 NORTH COLONIE CENTRAL SCHOOLC/O THOMAS RYBALTOWSKI P.O. BOX 708NEWTONVILLE, NY 12128 3,494,368 $5,591
RF272-99082 BLACK RIVER UNION HIGH SCHOOLC/O EDIE LOU COLE 92A MAIN ST.LUDLOW, VT 05149 297,380 $476
RF272-99083 LUDLOW TOWN SCHOOL DIST.C/O EDIE LOU COLE 92A MAIN ST.LUDLOW, VT 05149 135,207 $216
RR272-00132 STANDARD CONSTRUCTION CO.C/O CLIFF HUNT P.O. BOX 38289GERMANTOWN, TN 38138 63,324,880 $101,320
TOTALS: 12       84,760,527 $135,617
             
             
CASE NO.APPLICANT FIRM CONTACT VOLUME REFUND  
RF272-86300 FRIO COUNTYOR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.C/O MARK R. SORENSON699,564 $1,119  
RF272-86332 DOUGLAS COUNTYOR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.C/O RAYMOND H. SOMERVILLE2,390,847 $3,825  
RF272-87068 HENDERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTOR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.C/O JERRY GRAVES1,079,270 $1,727  
RF272-87806 HARRISON COUNTYOR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.C/O PAMELA ULRICH4,085,512 $6,537  
RF272-89003 YAFFE IRON & METAL CO., INC.OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.C/O SHARLA K. MCAFEE1,088,664 $1,742  
RF272-89004 YOAKUM PACKING CO.OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.C/O J.E. PIETSCH439,150 $703  
RF272-89063 CONSOLIDATED CIGAR CO.OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.JAMES PARNOFIELLO2,647,107 $4,235  
TOTALS: 7     12,430,114 $19,888  
             
             
             
CASE NO.APPLICANT FIRM CONTACT VOLUME REFUND  
RF272-89761 FARMERS COOPERATIVEOR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC.C/O L.K. HERMAN21,044,505 $33,671  
RF272-99010 MARSHALL FARMERS CO-OPOR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC.C/O MARK POSEY11,052,308 $17,684  
RF272-99027 FARMERS CO-OP ASSN.OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC.C/O FORREST HANES3,954,659 $6,327  
RF272-99032 GREENFIELD FARMERS COOPERATIVEOR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC.C/O RICHARD THRASHER558,583 $894  
RR272-00266 FARMERS UNION CO-OP ASSN.OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC. 4,650,674 $7,441  
TOTALS: 5     41,260,729 $66,017  
             


Last Updated on 8/13/98
By oha