Case No. RF272-95743

April 28, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Hanover, MA et al.

Dates of Filing: May 24, 1994 et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-95743 et al.

This Decision and Order will consider eight Applications for Refund that were submitted by purchasers of refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). These applicants have requested refunds from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the OHA's authority under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. The names of the claimants and the volumes of refined petroleum products that they purchased are set forth in the Appendix to this Decision.

This refund proceeding was instituted to allow purchasers of refined petroleum products during the price control period to 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 established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the crude oil price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).

The refund procedures set forth in these cases specify that in order to receive a refund, an applicant generally must (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by alleged crude oil overcharges. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end-users of petroleum products and whose businesses were not covered by the DOE's or its predecessors' price controls are presumed to have been injured.

Generally, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016. We derived this volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).

Each of the claimants has submitted all of the information required of crude oil applicants.(1) Specifically, they have all submitted actual or estimated volume claims, and documentation for those claims. We have thoroughly examined the information submitted, and we conclude that the estimation techniques used are reasonable and that the volumes claimed reflect accurately the applicants’ purchases. We will therefore approve the applicants’ claims based on the volumes set forth in the appendix.

The claimants purchased their refined petroleum products for use in businesses that are unrelated to the petroleum industry and did not resell those products.(2) They are therefore end-users of refined petroleum products and are presumed to have been injured by the crude oil overcharges. Accordingly, the applicants are entitled to receive their full allocable shares of the crude oil monies. The refund amount granted to each applicant is set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order. The total volume approved in this Decision is 23,173,882 gallons of refined petroleum products, and the total of the refunds granted is $37,079.

The final deadline for applications in the crude oil refund 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 whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these and other successful applicants when we are better able to determine how much additional money will be collected from firms that have either outstanding obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases currently in litigation.

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 a total of $37,079 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking - Claimants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury to the applicants set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order.

(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 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

(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by the applicants. These determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any 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:April 28, 1999

APPENDIX

APPLICANT PAYEE AND APPROVED

AND CASE NO. ADDRESS GALLONAGE REFUND

RF272-95743

Hanover, MA Hanover, MA 1,920,149 $3,072

550 Hanover St.

Hanover, MA 02339

RF272-95760

Hickman Co.Fiscal Court Hickman Co. Fiscal 193,529 310

Court

Courthouse

Clinton, KY 42031

RF272-95761

Dawson County Dawson County 838,630 1,342

P.O. Box 1268

Lamesa, TX 79331

RF272-95762

Contee Sand & Gravel Contee Sand & 4,963,560 7,942

Gravel

5601 Van Dusen Rd.

Laurel, MD 20707

RF272-95763

Anderson & Anderson Anderson & Anderson 1,177,490 1,884

Contractors Contractors

Box 1620

Princeton, WV 24740

RF272-95765

O.K. Coop Grain Co. O.K. Coop Grain Co. 8,101,106 12,962

or Energy Refunds, Inc.

P.O. Box 656

Hardin, KY 42048

APPLICANT PAYEE AND APPROVED

AND CASE NO. ADDRESS GALLONAGE REFUND

RF272-95766

Park Farmers Coop Park Farmers Coop 3,232,636 5,172 or Energy Refunds, Inc.

P.O. Box 656

Hardin, KY 42048

RF272-95767

Winifred Farmers Oil Co. Winifred Farmers Oil 2,746,782 4,395 Co. or Energy Refunds,

Inc.

P.O. Box 656

Hardin, KY 42048

____________________________________________________________________________

TOTALS 8 23,173,882 $37,079

CONCURRENCE

HANOVER.WPD

4/22/99

PALMER______________

MANN___________

(1) Interested parties were provided with an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to the applications considered in this Decision.

(2) Three of the applicants (O.K. Coop Grain Co., RF272-95765; Park Farmers Coop, RF272-95766; and Winifred Farmers Oil Co., RF272-95767) are agricultural cooperatives. In subpart V refund proceedings, we have generally regarded refund applications filed by cooperatives as claims filed on behalf of their members because cooperatives are in a position to pass through any refunds received to their members. Thus, to the extent that the volumes claimed by the cooperatives were sold to their members, the end-user presumption of injury is applicable to these claims. Each of these cooperatives has certified that it will pass through any refund to its members. Furthermore, we have subtracted from these gallonage claims the volumes that each cooperative sold to non-members.