RF272-69071
November 6, 1996
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Name of Applicant: Talladega County
Date of Filing: June 30, 1988
Case Number: RF272-69071
This Decision and Order will consider an Application for Refund submitted by Talladega County (Talladega). Talladega requests a refund from crude oil funds available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.
In the past, purchasers of refined petroleum products during the crude oil price control period could apply for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds. 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986).(1)The DOE collected the crude oil overcharge funds through consent orders with certain firms that sold crude oil during the 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 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. An applicant who was an end-user (ultimate consumer) of petroleum products, whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry, and who was not subject to the price regulations of the DOE or its predecessors, is presumed to have absorbed rather than passed on
alleged crude oil overcharges, and is therefore presumed to have been injured. 52 Fed. Reg. 11737 at 11743 (April 10, 1987). This presumption also applies to an end-user that, like Talladega, is a governmental entity. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).
We have carefully reviewed Talladega's Application. It is based on purchases of gasoline and other petroleum products for county operations. As an end-user, Talladega is presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and is entitled to its full allocable share of crude oil overcharge funds. Talladega verified its gallonage estimate by submitting copies of recent petroleum purchase records. We find that the estimated gallonage figure for the price control period is reasonable.
As an end-user, Talladega is entitled to receive its full allocable share of crude oil overcharge funds. We calculated the refund amount by multiplying an applicant's approved gallonage claim by the current volumetric refund amount of $.0016 per gallon. The total volume that we have approved for Talladega is 1,187,271 gallons of refined petroleum product. The total refund that we will grant Talladega is therefore $1,900.
The final deadline for the crude oil refund 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 whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for this and other successful applicants when we are better able to determine how much additional money will be collected from firms that have either outstanding obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases currently in litigation.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Refund filed by Talladega County (Case No. RF272-69071) is 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 $1,900 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking Claimants 4, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury, to:
Talladega County
Attn: James L. Hilber
P.O. Box 755
Talladega, AL 35161
(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, Talladega County 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
(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by Talladega County. These determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying the Application for Refund is incorrect.
(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: November 6, 1996
(1)The crude oil price control period extended from August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981.