Case No. RF272-80960

October 20, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application For Refund

Name of Petitioner: Bernalillo School District

Date of Filing: August 27, 1990

Case Number:RF272-80960

This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants an Application for Refund, releasing a total of $895 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The name of the Applicant is the Bernalillo School District. The Bernalillo School District purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 and 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). The Bernalillo School District relies on the presumption of injury for end-users as the basis for its refund claim. Under this presumption, OHA presumes applicants were injured if they were end-users of petroleum products and were not covered by the DOE or its predecessors’ price controls. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

We have reviewed the information submitted by the applicant and determined that it was an end-user of eligible petroleum products. The Bernalillo School District derived its purchase volume claim by using a reasonable estimation technique. After considering the Application carefully, we have concluded that a $895 refund is warranted for the purchase volume of 559,644 gallons.(1)

The final deadline for the crude oil 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 after the resolution of a few outstanding enforcement proceedings whether sufficient funds are available for additional refunds.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by the Bernalillo School District for all available crude oil overcharge funds is 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 $895 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to the following applicant:

Bernalillo School District

224 North Camino Del Pueblo

Bernalillo, NM 87004

(3) To facilitate the payment of a future refund, the applicant 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 the following address:

Director of Management Information

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20585-0107

(4) The determination made in this Decision and Order is based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary material submitted by the applicant. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying the 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 20, 1999

(1)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No interested parties filed comments with respect to the application involved in this determination.