Case No. RF272-15943

July 11, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Lyle Bredenkamp

Star Manufacturing Co.

St. Joseph Care Center

Dates of Filings: December 15, 1987

May 20, 1988

July 5, 1994

Case Numbers: RF272-15943

RF272-57065

RF272-98794

This Decision and Order will consider the Applications for Refund filed by three claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). Each applicant has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987) (Berry); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (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 as a result of the alleged overcharges. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end-users of petroleum products and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges, and generally need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. See also Berry.

In general, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016 per gallon, the volumetric refund amount currently available. We derived the volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).

Each of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order is an end-user. Each bought petroleum products to operate its business. Each applicant has derived its purchase volume claim by using actual records or a reasonable estimation technique. We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by the applicants, and have determined that the information provided by the applicants sufficiently supports their requests for refunds.

One application considered in this Decision was filed on behalf of Lyle Bredenkamp, Case No. RF272-15943. Mr. Bredenkamp passed away leaving his son, Gary Bredenkamp, as his sole heir. We therefore direct that the refund be granted in Gary Bredenkamp’s name.

Since the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision are end-users of refined petroleum products, they are presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and are entitled to receive their full allocable share of the crude oil monies. The refund amounts are calculated by multiplying the approved purchase volumes by the volumetric refund amount of $0.0016 per gallon. 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 2,370,101 gallons, and the sum of the refunds granted is $3,792.

One of the applicants, Star Manufacturing Co., Case No. RF272-57065, filed its application through Federal Action, a private filing service. However, the refund check will be sent to this applicant directly for the reason described in Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution, 26 DOE ¶ 85,039 (1997). The other two applicants will also have their checks sent to them directly.

The final deadline for the crude oil refund proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay crude oil refund claimants at the current 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 three claimants listed in the Appendix attached 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 from the escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking- Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, the amounts specified in the Appendix to this Decision and Order to the applicants specified in that Appendix.

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, each applicant 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: July 11, 1997

[Case Nos. RF272-15943 et al.]

APPENDIX

Case No.

Payee

Purchase

Refund

and Applicant

and Address

Volume

[Gallons]

_____________________ _______

___________________ _______

________ ___

________ ___

RF272-15943

Gary Bredenkamp

31,568

$51

Lyle Bredenkamp

405 Gordon St.

Waco, NE 68460

RF272-57065

Star Manufacturing Co.

1,293,319

$2,069

Star Manufacturing Co.

c/o Carolyn Johnson, Controller

8600 South Interstate 35

Oklahoma City, OK 73143

RF272-98794

St. Joseph Care Center

1,045,214

$1,672

St. Joseph Care Center

c/o Margaret Teague, CFO

759 Vermont Avenue

Kansas City, KS 66101-3740

_____________________ _______

___________________ _______

________ ___

________ ___

Three Applicants

2,370,101

$3,792