Case No. RF272-89090

December 2, 2002

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Names of Petitioner: ONC Freight Systems

Date of Filing: March 27, 1991

Case Number: RF272-89090

This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants an Application for Refund totaling $92,020 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding submitted by Rocor Transportation Companies, Inc. (Rocor) on behalf of ONC Freight Systems (ONC). The Applicant purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 and has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals 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). The Applicant relies on the presumption of injury for end-users as the basis for its refund claim. Under this presumption, OHA will presume applicants were injured if they were end-users of petroleum products and were not covered by the DOE or its predecessors’ price controls. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

In its Application, Rocor, an end-user, claims that it purchased 71,448,623 gallons of diesel fuel during the consent order period. It calculated this gallonage by taking its yearly expenditures for each year in the consent order period and dividing it by that year’s national average price as referenced in our Decision in Joe D. Jones, 17 DOE ¶ 85,636 (1988) (Jones). However, we believe that this method overestimates Rocor’s gallonage purchases. In Jones, the yearly averages were only an interim step in our calculation of a final single average price to be used to calculate gallonage for all purchases during the entire consent order period. This weighted average price was calculated to be $0.0458683 per gallon. Dividing Rocor’s diesel fuel purchase expenditure data by the Jones weighted average price results in a purchase gallonage of 57,512,329 gallons. We will approve Rocor’s claim for this gallonage amount. The sum of the refund granted is $92,020.

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,

as we near the resolution of the remaining pending claims, whether any further payment is to be made.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by Rocor Transportation Companies, Inc. on behalf of ONC Freight Systems, Case No. RF272-89090, 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 $92,020 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z. The check should be made out to and sent to the following address:

Mr. Chris Horner, Assistant CFO

Rocor Transportation Companies, Inc.

FKA ONC Freight Systems

or McMickle & Edwards

PO Box 221145

Memphis TN 38122

(3) To facilitate the payment of any future refunds, the 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 applicant. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying the 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: December 2, 2002