August 19, 2003
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Name of Firm: Tremco, Inc.
Date of Filing: April 3, 1989
Case Number: RF272-75427
This Decision and Order considers an Application for Refund filed Tremco, Inc. (Tremco) in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. Tremco purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 (refund period) and has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy 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 at the refund level of $0.0016 per gallon of product purchased 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).
We have reviewed the information submitted by the Applicant and determined that it was an end- user of eligible petroleum products and interested parties have not rebutted the presumption of injury.(1) The Applicant derived its purchase volume claim by consulting contemporary production records. After considering the Application carefully, we have concluded that a refund is warranted for the purchase volume and in the amount set forth in the Decision. The total volume for the refund approved in this Decision is 2,892,580 gallons and the refund granted is $4,628.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Refund filed on behalf of Tremco, Inc., Case No. RF272-75427, 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 the refund amount set forth in this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-
Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to the applicant. A refund check for $4,628 shall made payable to TruSeal Technologies and be sent to the Applicant at the following address:
TruSeal Technologies
Attn: Mr. Rex Carnes
HC 84 Box 1923
Treuhaft Boulevard
Barbourville, KY 40906
(3) To facilitate the payment of a future refund, if the DOE should determine an additional payment is warranted, 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:
Office of Hearings and Appeals
HG-1/LEnfant Plaza Building
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585-1615
(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 applications is incorrect.
(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: August 19, 2003
(1)Tremco has changed ownership numerous times. We have determined that TruSeal Technologies is the proper recipient of the refund.