Case No. RR272-00260

April 21, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Motion for Reconsideration

Name of Petitioner: Inter-State Truck Lines, Inc.

Date of Filing: June 2, 1992

Case Number: RR272-00260

This Decision and Order will consider a Motion for Reconsideration filed by Inter-State Truck Lines, Inc. (Inter-State), a firm that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). Inter-State has requested refunds from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

Pursuant to current DOE policy, purchasers of refined petroleum products may apply to the OHA for refunds from the crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986).(1) We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through court-approved settlements, remedial orders, and consent orders entered into by the DOE and various firms that sold crude oil during the period of price controls. See, e.g., New York Petroleum, Inc., 18 DOE ¶ 85,435 (1988); Ernest A. Allerkamp, 17 DOE ¶ 85,079 (1988); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987). In the Order Implementing the MSRP, the OHA states that it will accept Applications for Refund in the Subpart V crude oil special refund proceeding from injured parties that have not waived their claims

by electing to participate in one of the "Stripper Well" refund proceedings.(2) Order Implementing the MSRP, 51 Fed. Reg. 29689; see April 10 Notice.

Inter State’s original Application for Refund was dismissed because the company failed to provide the information we requested to further consider the Application. In its present Motion, the firm asks that we reconsider its claim. Inter-State is a trucking company that filed for, and was granted, a refund from the Surface Transporters (ST) proceeding. Metro Cab, Inc., 16 DOE ¶ 85,051 (1987). Pursuant to Section III.A.1 of the Settlement Agreement, which every ST applicant was required to sign, an applicant to one of the Stripper Well escrows waives its right to a refund in any Subpart V proceeding. CF Indus., Inc., 16 DOE ¶ 85,586 (1987); Florida Rock and Tank Lines, Inc., 16 DOE ¶ 85,546 (1987). These waiver provisions were incorporated into Paragraphs 7 and 10 of the Surface Transporters Escrow Claim Form and Waiver which Inter-State signed. Consequently, by virtue of its Application to the ST Escrow, Inter-State waived its right to a refund under Subpart V. Accordingly, the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Inter-State in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding must be denied. See Best Products, Inc., 20 DOE ¶ 85,163 (1990); W. R. Grace & Co., 20 DOE ¶ 85,117 (1990).

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Motion for Reconsideration filed by Inter-State Truck Lines, Inc., Case No. RR272-00260, is hereby denied.

(2) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: April 21, 1999

(1)1/See Order Implementing the Modified Statement of Restitutionary Policy Concerning Crude Oil Overcharges, 51 Fed. Reg. 29689 (August 20, 1986) (Order Implementing the MSRP); see also Implementation of Special Refund Procedures, 52 Fed. Reg. 11737 (April 10, 1987) (April 10 Notice).

(2)The "Stripper Well" refund proceedings refer in part to the eight escrow accounts created by the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to implement the terms of the Settlement Agreement approved in The Department of Energy Stripper Well Exemption Litigation, 653 F. Supp. 108 (D. Kan. 1986). The escrow accounts were created to refund a portion of the $1.4 billion in crude oil overcharges to eight specified groups of petroleum product purchasers: Refiners, Retailers, Resellers, Agricultural Cooperatives, Airlines, Surface Transporters, Rail and Water Transporters, and Utilities.