June 3, 2002
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Name of Petitioner: Jefferson-Scranton Community Schools
Date of Filing: May 25, 1994
Case Number: RF272-96025
This Decision and Order will consider the Application for Refund filed by Jefferson-Scranton Community Schools, a purchaser of refined petroleum products during the crude oil price control period, August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. The applicant requests a refund from the crude oil monies currently available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) pursuant to the OHA's authority under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.
Pursuant to current Department of Energy (DOE) policy, purchasers of refined petroleum products may apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy in Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through court approved settlements, remedial orders and consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the period of price controls. See, e.g., New York Petroleum, Inc., 18 DOE ¶ 85,435 (1988); Ernest A. Allerkamp, 17 DOE ¶ 85,079 (1988); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987).
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. Applicants that were end-users of petroleum products and whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry, however, are presumed to have been injured. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987). Meritorious claimants are eligible to receive refunds equal to the number of gallons of petroleum products they purchased during the period of price controls multiplied by a per-gallon or volumetric refund amount. The volumetric refund amount is $0.0016 per gallon. We derived this refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies available by the total consumption of petroleum products in the United States during the period of price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).
We have determined that the applicant is eligible to receive its full allocable share of the available crude oil monies. The refund amount equals the estimated number of gallons of petroleum products the applicant purchased during the period of crude oil price controls, multiplied by the volumetric amount, $0.0016 per gallon. This refund amount is $161, based upon purchases of 100,432 gallons.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Refund filed by Jefferson-Scranton Community Schools, Case No. RF272-96025, for all available crude oil overcharge funds 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 from the escrow fund denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants 4, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants 4, Account No. 999DOE010Z, the sum of $161 to:
Jefferson-Scranton Community Schools
OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.
c/o Bobbie Brown
P.O. Box 1380
Paris, TN 38242-9986
(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds and interest, an 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
Washington, DC 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: June 3, 2002