Case No. RK272-01875

January 25, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Supplemental Order

Names of Petitioners: Sara J. Bowers et al.

Dates of Filing: July 12, 1995 et al.

Case Numbers: RK272-01875 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.

In one instance, Casey Concrete, Inc., Case No. RF272-25970, we were informed that the corporation had been liquidated, leaving two remaining stockholders. Therefore, each claimant was assigned a separate RK272- case number, RK272-04869 and RK272-04870, and the approved volume claim was allocated to each claimant based upon the percentage of his interest, i.e., fifty percent to each applicant. In a similar instance, Gary L. Brash, Case No. RF272-57901, we were informed that he had passed away, leaving his two sons as heirs. Each son was assigned a separate case number, RK272-01881 and RK272-04905, and each was granted one-half of the refund.

In a third case, Rowley Interstate Transport (Rowley), Case No. RK272-35615, we were informed that the corporation had been dissolved, leaving a company now known as Beef America Operating Co., Inc. (Beef America) as the majority stockholder. Beef America is now claiming that it is entitled to the supplemental refund. Since Beef America has only shown that it was a majority stockholder at the time of dissolution and not the precise amount of its ownership in Rowley, we will award to Beef America only 51 percent of the approved volume claim. Further, because Beef America is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, we will notify the bankruptcy court that it has received this refund.

If there are any future disbursements of crude oil funds, these cases will be known by their RK272- numbers and the refunds will be calculated on the adjusted gallonage amounts. The Appendix to this Decision and Order indicates the dollar amount of the supplemental refund granted to each applicant. The total amount of additional refunds being approved in this Order for the benefit of 26 recipients is $34,777.

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

Washington, D.C. 20585-0107

(4) Any conditions imposed 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: January 25, 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
RK272-01875 SARA J. BOWERS 5850 STEDMAN RD.IONIA, MI 48846 138,001 $110 RF272-35293
RK272-01881 RICKY L. BRASH S. 28018 PHILEO LAKE RD.SPANGLE, WA 99031 56,663 $45 RF272-57901
RK272-01930 ORA LEE MIRCOVICH P.O. BOX 553INGLESIDE, TX 78362 363,325 $291 RF272-58062
RK272-03594 BEEF AMERICA OPERATING CO, INCC/O FRED FROMI 14748 W. CENTER RD., #201OMAHA, NE 68144 5,896,547 $4,717 RF272-35615
RK272-03798 MILDRED LEVICKC/O THOMAS HEWNER 37 FRANKLIN ST.BUFFALO, NY 1420241961,790,000 $1,432 RF272-48268
RK272-04867 PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP BD. EDUCATNC/O JAMES J. FLANAGAN 125 A TRENTON RD., PO BOX 98BROWNS MILLS, NJ 08015 1,598,821 $1,279 RF272-95097
RK272-04868 SOUTHWEST-TEX LEASING CO., INCC/O MARK WALKER 1343 HALLMARKSAN ANTONIO, TX 78216 388,316 $311 RF272-55966
RK272-04869 BETH CASEY JOHNSTON TRUSTC/O JOHN H. DEGREGORI P.O. BOX 8540STOCKTON, CA 95208 431,661 $345 RF272-25970
RK272-04870 CALVIN CASEY TESTAMENT TRUSTC/O JOHN H. DEGREGORI P.O. BOX 8540STOCKTON, CA 95208 431,661 $345 RF272-25970
RK272-04871 MAX MACAULAY RT. 3, BOX 2503MCMILLAN, MI 49853 222,225 $178 RF272-40794
RK272-04872 CHARLES OMER & SONSC/O CHARLES E. OMER 4709 STATE RT. 492MORGANFIELD, KY 42437 424,973 $340 RF272-60112
RK272-04873 RONALD L. WIENS 207 SHERMAN ST.BEATRICE, NB 68310 318,730 $255 RF272-69108
RK272-04875 ANDREW MERKEL 11766 364TH AVE.LEOLA, SD 57456 213,698 $171 RF272-65393
RK272-04876 LANCASTER CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLC/O LISA LAVENDER 650 JULIETTE AVE.LANCASTER, PA 17601 595,680 $477 RF272-75914
RK272-04878 PENTAIR, INC.C/O JEANNE M. GODE 1500 CNTY RD. B2 W.ST. PAUL, MN 55113310515,419,210 $12,335 RF272-26608
RK272-04881 JACK JOHNSON 558 STATE HWY. 392BARD, NM 88411 283,315 $227 RF272-39570
RK272-04882 DONOVAN O. LEITH 10055 45TH ST., N.E.LAKOTA, ND 58344 506,425 $405 RF272-73484
RK272-04884 HOWARD F. LIGHTFOOT 12611 S. HWY. 7LEES SUMMIT, MO 64086 708,288 $567 RF272-14985
RK272-04885 HOLY ANGELS CHURCHC/O FATHER LOUIS LOUGEN 348 PORTER AVE.BUFFALO, NY 14201 285,100 $228 RF272-76236
RK272-04886 ANDREWS PLAZA HOUSINGC/O JEFFREY GLATZER C/O METRO MANAGEMENT42-25 21ST ST.LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101 1,646,290 $1,317 RF272-26754
RK272-04889 RANDY SCHWARTZ RR 4 BOX 179AGREAT BEND, KS 67530 233,335 $187 RF272-73522
RK272-04890 BRIDGEWATER COLLEGEC/O MELVIN D. WAMPLER 402 E. COLLEGE ST.BRIDGEWATER, VA 22812 2,763,352 $2,211 RF272-66801
RK272-04891 HOLLIS H. FREESE 810 W. 3RD.WAYNE, NE 68787 205,403 $164 RF272-43601
RK272-04899 HI-WAY SURFACING CO.C/O L. H. MOORE 713 NUESE LANEMARSHALL, MN 56258 8,281,521 $6,625 RF272-37717
RK272-04900 FRANK E. MIXON 251 W. PARK AVE.DREW, MS 38737 212,486 $170 RF272-11878
RK272-04905 BRET W. BRASH W. 6618 JENNINGS RD.CHENEY, WA 99004 56,663 $45 RF272-57901
TOTALS: 26       43,471,689 $34,777  
               


Last Updated on 1/20/99
By OHA