Case No. RK272-05530
November 29, 1999
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Supplemental Order
Names of Petitioners: Lester E. Laub, Jr., et al.
Dates of Filing: September 30, 1999, et al.
Case Numbers: RK272-05530, et al.
Pursuant to the long-standing policy of the Department of Energy (DOE), thousands of purchasers of petroleum products have applied for, and been granted, refunds from crude oil overcharge funds under jurisdiction of the DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). See Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy To Be Implemented In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). The standards for considering Applications for Refund from these crude oil funds are set forth at 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.
The OHA has approved more than 87,000 requests for refund from the pool of crude oil overcharge funds. In Subpart V crude oil refund cases, a claimant is generally eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products it purchased during the period from August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981, multiplied by a per gallon amount. That per gallon refund amount is derived by dividing the total refund monies available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the crude oil price control period. Refunds had been calculated by multiplying the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products purchased by the applicant by $0.0008 (the volumetric factor). That volumetric factor had been in use since April 1989, when it replaced an earlier volumetric factor of $0.0002 per gallon. Any applicant who received a refund at the lower volumetric factor has also received a supplemental refund based on an additional $0.0006 per gallon. See Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution, 18 DOE ¶ 85,878 (1989).
Additional crude oil overcharge funds have become available for disbursement and we can now issue additional refund checks to applicants. Sufficient funds are available to pay applicants at a new, aggregate rate of $0.0016 per gallon.(1) Thus, the amount of the supplemental refund will be equal to the refund already received. Refunds are rounded to the nearest dollar.
In order to receive a supplemental refund check, applicants are being required to verify (directly or through their representatives) that their name and address in our records are correct, to correct any information that is not accurate, and to indicate whether there has been any change in circumstances affecting the payment of the refund. We intend to issue a series of Decision and Orders approving supplemental refunds as we receive completed verification forms from all applicants or certifications from their representatives.
The Appendix to this Decision and Order contains the names and addresses of a group of recipients receiving these supplemental refund checks. In each case, we were informed that there had been a change of circumstances since the previous refund was disbursed. Accordingly, we set up a new case file (designated RK272-)(2) and investigated whether the individual or firm that submitted the verification form (or upon whose behalf the form was submitted) was the proper party to receive the supplemental refund. On the basis of that investigation, we have determined that the parties listed in the Appendix are the proper recipients of those supplemental refunds. (3) The Appendix also indicates the dollar amount of the supplemental refund for each applicant. The total amount of additional refunds being approved in this Order for the benefit of 12 recipients is $3,573.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) 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 a supplemental refund to each Crude Oil Refund Recipient set forth in the Appendix to this Order.
(2) The funds shall be disbursed from the escrow fund denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury.
(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, an applicant 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) Any conditions that applied to an applicant's receipt of the initial crude oil refund shall also apply to that applicant's receipt of this supplemental refund.
(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: November 29, 1999
(1)We are now paying first-time crude oil refund recipients at the volumetric rate of $0.0016 per gallon.
(2)The new case number, RK272-, replaces the case number (designated RF272-) which had formerly been assigned to each application. For all future purposes, the application will be known by the new case number.
(3)In a number of instances, we were informed that a firm had been dissolved and that each of the former owners wished to receive an individual refund check. However, in one instance, two firms (Edwards Farming Groups and Samuel Edwards Associates) merged into the one entity (Limoneira Co.). Each of the original firms owners has applied on its own behalf and has requested a refund for Limoneira Co. The original RF272- numbers are assigned RK272- numbers as follows: Case No. RF272-07271 (Edwards Farming Groups) is redesignated as RK272-05554, and Case No. RF272-07249 (Samuel Edwards Associates) is redesignated as RK272-05555. If there are any future disbursements of crude oil funds, these cases will be known by their RK272-numbers, and refunds will be disbursed based on their current gallonage amounts.
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT/FIRM STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF NUM RK272-05530 LESTER E. LAUB, JR. 2573 N. 60TH ST. MILWAUKEE, WI 53210 395,142 $316 RF272-16174 RK272-05532 ROBERT RIDDLE 47204 256TH ST. RENNER, SD 57055 312,620 $250 RF272-25397 RK272-05533 CONNELL RESOURCES, INC. C/O SHERI WELCH 4305 E. HARMONY RD. FT. COLLINS, CO 80528 298,583 $239 RF272-09870 RK272-05537 FLORENCE D. HAMP 3112 PARK ST. MISSOULA, MT 598018757 502,789 $402 RF272-26012 RK272-05548 CRYTS FAMILY TRUST C/O LEANN KELLEY, TRUSTEE 12926 COUNTY RD. 442 DEXTER, MO 63841 141,658 $113 RF272-03424 RK272-05549 OCIA BELL DAVIS PO BOX 86 DARLING, MS 38623 106,675 $85 RF272-91415 RK272-05552 ACCO BRANDS, INC.-SWINGLINE C/O JAMES F. EDWARDS 300 TOWER PKWY LINCOLNSHIRE, IL 60069 415,000 $332 RF272-90149 RK272-05553 DU-WELL PRODUCTS, INC. C/O JULIE SCHLECKER PO BOX 470 DOWOGIAC, MI 49047 418,372 $335 RF272-21605 RK272-05554 LIMONEIRA CO. C/O CHERYL MEYER 1141 CUMMINGS RD. SANTA PAULA, CA 93060 131,264 $105 RF272-07271 RK272-05555 LIMONEIRA CO. C/O CHERYL MEYER 1141 CUMMINGS RD. SANTA PAULA, CA 93060 147,685 $118 RF272-07249 RK272-05556 BRIAN K. GURR 2980 S. 2300 E. SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84109 159,364 $127 RF272-02389 RK272-05558 JUDY YEARY PO BOX 629 PENNINGTON GAP, VA 24277 1,438,421 $1,151 RF272-72764 TOTALS: 12 4,467,573 $3,573