Case No. RF272-96136

October 26, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Rio Blanco County, et al.

Dates of Filings: June 1, 1994, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-96136 et al.

This Decision and Order will consider Applications for Refund filed by seven claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. Each applicant listed in the Appendix attached to this Decision and Order 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).

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 (1981). (1) One of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order was submitted by Petroleum Funds, Inc., a private filing service located in Paris, Tennessee.

The amount of an applicant’s refund is equal to $0.0016 per gallon multiplied by the volume of its purchases. Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix has documented its purchase volumes. The purchase volumes and refunds approved for each applicant are set forth in the Appendix. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 4,538,388 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $7,261.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Applications for Refund filed by the claimants listed in the Appendix to this

Decision and Order for all available crude oil overcharge funds are 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 amounts set forth in the Appendix to

this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the

Department of Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No.

999DOE010Z, to the applicants listed in the Appendix.

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicants 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 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: October 26, 1999

(1)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual

crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to any

application involved in this determination.

Appendix
CASE NO.APPLICANT CONTACTSTREET ADDRESSCITY/STATE VOLUMEREFUND
RF272-96136 RIO BLANCO COUNTYC/O THOMAS C. JUDD PO BOX 1047MEEKER, CO 81641 2,152,098 $3,443
RF272-96139 SPRINGLAKE-EARTH I.S.D.C/O ROBERT CONKIN PO BOX 130EARTH, TX 790310130224,096 $359
RF272-96147 BLAIR COUNTYC/O TERRY L. WAGNER PO BOX 539, COURTHOUSEHOLLIDAYSBURG, PA 166480539680,276 $1,088
RF272-96162 HAYWARD COMMUNITY SCHOOL DIST.C/O SHIRLEY REDMOND OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.PO BOX 1380PARIS, TN 382429986426,142 $682
RF272-96175 CITY OF WHITEHALL, OHIOC/O LENDEL E. HODGE 360 S. YEARLING RD.WHITEHALL, OH 432131894595,200 $952
RF272-96179 TOWNSHIP OF SCOTTC/O JOHN GAYDESKI 2600 OLD GREENTREE RD.SCOTT TOWNSHIP, PA 15106 210,860 $337
RF272-96197 HARDING COUNTYC/O ARLENE B. ARAGON PO BOX 1002MOSQUERO, NM 87733 249,716 $400
TOTALS: 7       4,538,388 $7,261


Last Updated on 10/18/1999
By OHA