Case No. RG272-00093

May 20, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Applicant:Schaeffer Trucking, Inc.

Date of Filing: April 10, 1995

Case Number: RG272-93

This Decision and Order will consider an Application for Refund filed by the shareholders of Schaeffer Trucking, Inc., a bankrupt trucking company. The application is based upon Schaeffer Trucking’s purchases of refined petroleum products during the crude oil price control period (August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981). Schaeffer Trucking’s shareholders applied through Wilson, Keller & Associates, a private filing service. The shareholders have requested a refund from crude oil funds available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

In the past, purchasers of refined products were allowed to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders between the DOE and numerous 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. Applicants who were end-users of petroleum products, however, and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges. These applicants need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

In general, an applicant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by the volumetric refund amount. Currently, the volumetric refund amount is $.0016 per gallon.

We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by Schaeffer Trucking, and we have determined that the information provided by it sufficiently supports its Application for Refund. We find that Schaeffer Trucking was an end-user of refined petroleum products. Accordingly, it is presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and is entitled to receive its full allocable share of the crude oil funds. The total volume approved in this Decision is 10,868,574 gallons, and the refund granted is $17,390.

Schaeffer Trucking is the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding which was closed in 1992. The application was filed on behalf of the shareholders at the time of Schaeffer Trucking’s closure. However, we were informed by the bankruptcy trustee’s attorney that the trustee was interested in reopening the bankruptcy because of the potential crude oil refund. On May 13, 1997, we received a Court Order from The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. The Court Order reopened the bankruptcy case for Schaeffer Trucking and appointed a new trustee, Maureen Gaughan. Since the bankruptcy proceeding for Schaeffer Trucking is now open and the trustee has requested the check be sent to her, we will direct the refund to the trustee.

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 applicants 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 Schaeffer Trucking, Inc., 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 (the Director), shall take appropriate action to disburse $17,390 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking-Applicants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of Treasury to “Maureen Gaughan, Trustee of the Bankruptcy Estate of Schaeffer Trucking, Inc., 941 W. Elliot, Suite 10-64, Chandler, AZ, 85224.”

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, Ms. Gaughan 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 determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by Schaeffer Trucking. Any of these determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any 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: May 20, 1997