Case No. RF272-81170

November 19, 1996

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Chelsea Schools, et al.

Dates of Filings: August 31, 1990, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-81170, et al.

This Decision and Order will consider Applications for Refund filed by 5 claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. Each applicant listed in the Appendix attached to this Decision and Order 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).

In order to receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant generally must (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by the overcharges. However, applicants that were end users of petroleum products and whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have been injured. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

We have reviewed the information submitted by these applicants and determined that each was an end user of petroleum products. (1) Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix has documented its purchase volumes. The purchase volumes and refunds approved for each applicant are set forth in the Appendix. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 815,063 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $1,305.

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 whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these 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 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 the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order. Refund checks totaling $1,305 shall be sent to:

School Union #51

c/o Bruce Young

Rural Route # 6, P.O. Box 2860

Gardiner, ME 04345

(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 a 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: November 19, 1996

(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.


Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND
RF272-81170 CHELSEA SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL UNION #51 C/O BRUCE YOUNG RR 6, BOX 2860 GARDINER, ME 04345 197,235 $316
RF272-81171 JEFFERSON SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL UNION #51 C/O BRUCE YOUNG RR 6, BOX 2860 GARDINER, ME 04345 193,491 $310
RF272-81172 PALERMO SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL UNION #51 C/O BRUCE YOUNG RR 6, BOX 2860 GARDINER, ME 04345 94,957 $152
RF272-81173 WHITEFIELD SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL UNION #51 C/O BRUCE YOUNG RR 6, BOX 2860 GARDINER, ME 04345 208,863 $334
RF272-81174 WINDSOR SCHOOLS OR SCHOOL UNION #51 C/O BRUCE YOUNG RR 6, BOX 2860 GARDINER, ME 04345 120,517 $193
Totals: 5       815,063 $1,305
             


Last Updated on 8/15/97
By OHA