Case No. RK272-04988

June 24, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Supplemental Order

Names of Petitioners: John P. Lich, et al.

Dates of Filing: June 7, 1999, et al.

Case Numbers: RK272-04988, 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. 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 21 recipients is $2,367.

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 Ave., 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: June 24, 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.

Appendix
CASE NO.APPLICANT CONTACT/FIRM STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF NUM
RK272-04988 JOHN P. LICH 1900 HENDERSON RD.PORTLAND, MI 48875 62,860 $50 RF272-26045
RK272-04989 HELEN H. GODWIN 202 GREEN ST. E.PELHAM, GA 31779135397,810 $78 RF272-15643
RK272-04990 HENRY A. SMITH TRUSTC/O LOIS J. SMITH, TRUSTE 975 E. SHERRILL RD.MINOOKA, IL 60447 130,391 $104 RF272-28205
RK272-04993 F.P. BROWN & SONSC/O LARRY E. BROWN 11030 HWY. 76MARINGOVIN, LA 70757 99,798 $80 RF272-16515
RK272-04995 JAMES VAHRENKAMP 485 W. 8TH ST.CHADRON, NE 69337 32,908 $26 RF272-09336
RK272-04996 MARC VAHRENKAMP HC 72, BOX 22HAY SPRINGS, NE 69347 32,908 $26 RF272-09336
RK272-04999 HILDA FALCONER 1250 140TH ST.ADAIR, IA 50002 122,904 $98 RF272-02015
RK272-05000 SELMA SUNDAT 201 KENNEDY AVE.MADDOCK, ND 58348 67,995 $54 RF272-01734
RK272-05001 EUGENE A. AUCH BOX 111SCOTLAND, SD 57059 70,828 $57 RF272-24285
RK272-05002 ELESE ADAMS 2110 N. OKLA.GUYMON, OK 73942 257,639 $206 RF272-09292
RK272-05003 ESTATE OF RON EDINGTON 20698 N. 2050 EAST RD.BISMARK, IL 61814 88,536 $71 RF272-06206
RK272-05004 GARRY N. DIX 708 DOUGLAS DR.ALAMOSA, CO 81101 201,862 $161 RF272-08349
RK272-05005 BONNIE HELGESON RT. 4, BOX 201PARK RAPIDS, MN 56470 163,800 $131 RF272-14191
RK272-05006 ELIZABETH RANGE 718 N. WALL ST.BELTON, TX 76513 169,989 $136 RF272-08939
RK272-05009 GAD CHEESE, INC.C/O BRUCE ALBRECHT N 2401 C.T.H.C.MEDFORD, WI 54431 471,942 $378 RF272-17147
RK272-05010 ADA M. HUBBARD BOX 264, REIDS RD.LOUISE, MS 39097 217,459 $174 RF272-14688
RK272-05011 DENNLER BROS.C/O MARK DENNLER 1041 DENNLER LOOPJULIAETTA, ID 83535 141,657 $113 RF272-27077
RK272-05012 EILEEN LINDBLOOM 718 S., 19TH ST.OSAGE CITY, KS 66523 265,608 $212 RF272-09700
RK272-05014 MRS. C.O. HANDBERRY RT. 1, BOX 25MARTIN, SC 29836 107,934 $86 RF272-11813
RK272-05016 R.K.& K. DAIRYC/O KRAIG ROTH 994 294THSEWARD, NE 68434 86,822 $69 RF272-00660
RK272-05017 MRS. BYRL DODD 29737 190TH ST.REINBECK, IA 50669 70,829 $57 RF272-10225
TOTALS: 21       2,962,479 $2,367  
               


Last Updated on 6/23/1999
By OHA