Case No. RF272-9377

December 19, 1996

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Petitioner: Bulk Transport, Inc.

Date of Filing: June 27, 1994

Case Number: RF272-97377

This Decision and Order will consider an Application for Refund filed by Wilson, Keller & Associates (WKA), a private filing service, on behalf of Bulk Transport, Inc. (Bulk), formerly located in Prairieville, Louisiana. Bulk, a claimant that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981, has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) 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 that was an end-user (i.e., consumer) of refined petroleum products must document its purchase volumes. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987). Each applicant's refund share is calculated using the current refund amount of $0.0016 per gallon.

Bulk requests a refund for 17,143,075 gallons of petroleum products which it purchased during the crude oil refund period. We have reviewed the information submitted by Bulk and have determined that Bulk was an end-user of petroleum products.(1) Bulk has demonstrated the volume of its claim by consulting reports filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)and by using a reasonable

estimation technique for those years in which there were no ICC reports available.

Bulk is eligible to receive a refund. The total volume for which Bulk would be approved a refund in this Decision is 17,143,075 gallons of petroleum products. Bulk would be entitled to a refund of $27,429.

On May 20, 1996, WKA submitted a supplemental filing to this Office that included a letter signed by Warren P. Deckert, a shareholder of Bulk, stating that in May 1980, the firm was involved in a bankruptcy proceeding. See February 29, 1996 Letter from Warren P. Deckert to WKA. In another supplemental filing, WKA stated that Mr. Michael Chiasson informed them that he was the Trustee for the Debtor and the bankruptcy case was inactive. However, Mr. Chiasson also requested that WKA provide him information in writing regarding this refund. This Office has contacted Mr. Chiasson. He has stated that as the Trustee for Bulk Transport, he is interested in pursuing recovery of the assets on behalf of that firm, and no other person is authorized to act on behalf of Bulk Transport. On November 4, 1996, this Office received documents from Mr. Paul J. Ory, the attorney representing Mr. Chiasson, showing that the bankruptcy proceeding has been reinstated, and that Mr. Chiasson was officially reappointed the trustee. Mr. Ory also requested that any refund be sent to Mr. Chiasson. See October 28, 1996 Letter from Mr. Paul J. Ory to OHA.

In cases in which a refund applicant is in bankruptcy, we have generally determined that the restitutionary purposes of the refund process are served by disbursing the refund to the trustee for appropriate distribution in accordance with the instructions of the bankruptcy court. See, e.g., Murphy Oil Corp./Energy Cooperative, Inc., 23 DOE ¶ 85,104 at 88,271 (1993) ("the OHA has recognized the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, not the individual creditors, as the appropriate recipient of the refund"); see also Atlantic Richfield Co./Mid Continent Systems, Inc., 21 DOE ¶ 85,424 (1991). Because the trustee is the appropriate person to receive the refund in such cases, we have directed that the refund be sent to the trustee even when he has not filed a formal Application for Refund. See, e.g., Shell Oil Co./Eastern Air Lines, Inc., Case No. RF315- 5538 (December 16, 1992) (unpublished Decision). We have decided to follow these precedents in the present case. Since the corporation was the injured party in the first instance, we will disburse the refund to the person entitled to receive any assets due the corporation, viz., the Trustee. Since these funds will then fall within the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court, it is that court that will have the responsibility for determining the ultimate disposition of these funds.

The deadline for the crude oil proceeding, June 30, 1995, has passed. 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 Application for Refund filed on behalf of Bulk Transport, Inc., Case No. RF272-97377, is hereby granted 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 $27,429 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants 4, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to:

Bulk Transport, Inc.

OR Michael Chiasson, Trustee

c/o Paul J. Ory

Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips

601 Poydras Street, Suite 2415

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicant 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

(4) The determination made in this Decision and Order is based on the presumed validity of the statements and documentary material submitted by the applicant. This determination may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying this Decision and Order is incorrect.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: December 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 the applicant involved in this determination.