[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 71 (Thursday, April 13, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18809-18811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9172]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Proposed Implementation of Special Refund Procedures
AGENCY: Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of proposed implementation of special refund procedures.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of
Energy (DOE) announces the proposed procedures for disbursement of
$866,352.24, plus accrued interest, in refined petroleum product
violation amounts obtained by the DOE pursuant to Consent Orders issued
to Bell Fuels, Inc., et al., Case Nos. LEF-0061, et al. In the absence
of sufficient information to implement direct restitution to injured
customers of the consenting firms, the OHA has tentatively determined
that if no such customers come forward, the funds obtained from these
firms, plus accrued interest, will be made available to state
governments for use in four energy conservation programs.
DATES AND ADDRESSES: Comments must be filed in duplicate on or before
May 15, 1995, and should be addressed to the Office of Hearings and
Appeals, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., S.W.,
Washington, DC 20585. All comments should display a reference to the
appropriate case number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas O. Mann, Deputy Director, Roger
Klurfeld, Assistant Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 1000
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-2094 (Mann);
586-2383 (Klurfeld).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 10 CFR 205.282(b), notice
is hereby given of the issuance of the Proposed Decision and Order set
out below. The Proposed Decision and Order sets forth the procedures
that the DOE has tentatively formulated to distribute $866,352.24, plus
accrued interest, obtained by the DOE pursuant to Consent Orders issued
to eighteen resellers and retailers of refined petroleum products. The
Consent Orders settled DOE allegations that, during periods between
1973 and 1981, the firms had sold certain refined petroleum products at
prices in excess of the maximum lawful selling price, in violation of
Federal petroleum price regulations. The names of the firms, their case
numbers, the dates of the settlement periods, the products covered by
each Consent Order, and the amounts received from each firm are set
forth in the Appendix to the Proposed Decision.
Since it lacks sufficient information to implement a standard
first-stage refund process, the OHA has tentatively determined to make
all of the funds obtained from the firms available for indirect
restitution in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum
Overcharge Distribution and Restitution Act of 1986 (PODRA), 15 U.S.C.
4501-07. The funds will be distributed to state governments for use in
four energy conservation programs. Before making the funds available to
the states, however, the OHA will accept refund claims from any injured
customers of the consenting firms who come forward and will devise
refund procedures based on the information these applicants provide.
Any member of the public may submit written comments regarding the
proposed refund procedures. Commenting parties are requested to provide
two copies of their submissions. Comments must be submitted within 30
[[Page 18810]]
days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register and should
be sent to the address set forth at the beginning of this notice. All
comments received in this proceeding will be available for public
inspection between the hours of 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except federal holidays, in the Public Reference Room of the
Office of Hearings and Appeals, located in Room 1E-234, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585.
Dated: April 3, 1995.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Proposed Decision and Order of the Department of Energy
Implementation of Special Refund Procedures
Names of Firms: Bell Fuels, Inc., et al.
Dates of Filing: July 20, 1993, November 16, 1993
Case Numbers: LEF-0061, et al.
Date: April 3, 1995.
On July 20 and November 16, 1993, the Economic Regulatory
Administration (ERA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) filed Petitions
for the Implementation of Special Refund Procedures with the Office of
Hearings and Appeals (OHA), to distribute the funds received pursuant
to Consent Orders entered into by the DOE and the eighteen petroleum
resellers and retailers listed in the Appendix to this Decision and
Order (hereinafter collectively referred to as the consenting firms).
In accordance with the provisions of the procedural regulations at 10
C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V (Subpart V), the ERA requests in its
Petitions that the OHA establish special procedures to make refunds in
order to remedy the effects of regulatory violations set forth in the
Consent Orders.
I. Background
Each of the consenting firms was a reseller or retailer of refined
petroleum products during the periods relevant to this proceeding. ERA
audits of the consenting firms revealed possible violations of the
Mandatory Petroleum Price Regulations. Subsequently, each of these
firms entered into a separate Consent Order with the DOE in order to
settle its disputes with the DOE concerning certain sales of refined
petroleum products. Pursuant to these Consent Orders, the firms agreed
to pay to the DOE specified amounts in settlement of their potential
liability with respect to sales to their customers during the
settlement periods. The firms' payments are currently being held in
separate interest-bearing accounts pending distribution by the DOE. The
names of the firms, their addresses, the dates of the settlement
periods and of the Consent Orders, the amount received from each firm,
and the products covered by each Consent Order are set forth in the
Appendix to this Proposed Decision.
II. Jurisdiction and Authority
The Subpart V regulations set forth general guidelines which may be
used by the OHA in formulating and implementing a plan of distribution
of funds received as a result of an enforcement proceeding. The DOE
policy is to use the Subpart V process to distribute such funds. For a
more detailed discussion of Subpart V and the authority of the OHA to
fashion procedures to distribute refunds, see Petroleum Overcharge
Distribution and Restitution Act of 1986, 15 U.S.C. Secs. 4501 et seq.,
Office of Enforcement, 9 DOE para.82,508 (1981), and Office of
Enforcement, 8 DOE para.82,597 (1981) (Vickers).
II. Proposed Refund Procedures
In cases where the ERA is unable to identify parties injured by the
alleged overcharges or the specific amounts to which they may be
entitled, we normally implement a two-stage refund procedure. In the
first stage of such a proceeding, those who bought refined petroleum
products from the consenting firms may apply for refunds, which are
calculated on a pro-rata or volumetric basis. In order to calculate the
volumetric refund amount, the OHA divides the amount of money available
for direct restitution by the number of gallons sold by the firm during
the period covered by the consent order. In the second stage, any funds
remaining after all first-stage claims are decided are distributed in
accordance with PODRA.
In the cases covered by this Proposed Decision, however, we lack
much of the information that we normally use to provide direct
restitution to injured customers of the consenting firms. In
particular, we have been unable to obtain any information on the
volumes of the relevant petroleum products sold by the consenting firms
during the settlement period. Nor do we have any information concerning
the customers of these firms. Based on the present state of the record
in these cases, it would be difficult to implement a volumetric refund
process. Nevertheless, we will accept any refund claims submitted by
persons who purchased the products specified in the Appendix from the
consenting firms during the periods shown in the Appendix. We will work
with those claimants to develop additional information that would
enable us to determine who should receive refunds and in what amounts.
If no claims are received, we propose to distribute all of the
funds received from the consenting firms in accordance with the
provisions of PODRA. See Green Oil Company, 20 DOE para.85,450 (1990).
PODRA requires that the Secretary of Energy determine annually the
amount of oil overcharge funds that will not be required to refund
monies to injured parties in Subpart V proceedings and make those funds
available to state governments for use in four energy conservation
programs.
Before taking this action, we intend to publicize our proposal and
solicit comments from interested parties. We invite anyone who has
information concerning the consenting firms sales during the
settlement period to submit that information. Comments concerning the
tentative distribution process set forth in this Proposed Decision and
Order should be filed with the OHA within 30 days of its publication in
the Federal Register.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
The payments remitted to the Department of Energy by the firms
listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order pursuant to the
Consent Orders whose dates are set forth in the Appendix will be
distributed in accordance with the foregoing Decision.
Appendix
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Date of
Case No., firm Address Settlement period consent Amount Product
order received
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LEF-0061, Bell Fuels, Inc........ 4116 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago, 1/1/79-11/30/79 8/31/82 $33,973.12 Gasoline.
IL 60646.
LEF-0062, Este Oil Company....... 5556 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 11/1/73-1/28/81 5/13/83 63,033.90 Refined petroleum products.
45217.
[[Page 18811]]
LEF-0063, G&G Oil Co. of Indiana, 220 E. Centennial Ave., Muncie, 4/1/79-12/31/79 2/1/83 49,097.11 Refined petroleum products.
Inc. IN 47305.
LEF-0064, General Petroleum P.O. Box 209, Gary, IN 46402.... 11/1/73-4/30/74 7/13/83 23,060.52 Refined petroleum products.
Products, Inc.
LEF-0065, Reco Petroleum, Inc.... 100 N. 4th St., Reading, PA 3/1/79-1/30/81 2/8/83 26,472.40 Gasoline.
19601.
LEF-0066, SOS Monarch Oil Corp... East Village Rd., Tuxedo, NY 4/1/79-9/30/79 10/25/82 5,901.03 Gasoline.
10987.
LEF-0067, Capitol 66 oil Company. P.O. Box 2839, Jackson, MS 39207 11/1/73-3/31/74 9/15/82 15,766.43 Refined petroleum products.
LEF-0068, Cumberland Farms Dairy, 777 Dedham St., Canton, MA 02021 1/1/73-1/28/81 4/17/83 183,193.74 Gasoline.
Inc.
LEF-0069, Kickapoo Oil Co........ 215 E. Madison, Hillsboro, WI 3/1/79-8/31/79 9/24/82 40,812.58 Gasoline.
54634.
LEF-0070, Lampton-Love, Inc...... P.O. Drawer 1607, Jackson, MS 11/73-4/74 9/30/82 12,983.93 Gasoline.
39205.
LEF-0071, Skinny's Inc........... 5189 Texas Ave., Abilene, TX 3/1/79-3/31/80 9/2/82 16,000.00 Gasoline.
79608.
LEF-0072, Vermont Morgan Corp.... 114 Broadway, Saratoga, NY 12866 4/1/79-6/30/79 4/5/83 20,275.00 Gasoline.
LEF-0075, Bob's Broadway Shell... 220 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, CA 8/1/79-5/7/80 10/8/81 2,100.00 Gasoline.
92708.
LEF-0076, Clearview Gulf......... 3120 Clearview Parkway, 4/1/79-7/15/79 8/14/81 594.84 Gasoline.
Metairie, LA 70002.
LEF-0077, E-Z Serve, Inc......... P.O. Box 3579, Abilene, TX 79604 8/19/73-1/27/81 12/27/82 368,550.56 Gasoline.
LEF-0079. Millbrae Shell......... 825 Spruance Ln., Foster City, 8/1/79-11/30/79 3/5/82 2,500.00 Gasoline.
CA 94404.
LEF-0080, Bob Hutchinson, Inc.... 1334 Breckenridge St., San 8/1/79-11/30/79 3/5/82 1,762.00 Gasoline.
Leandro, CA 94579.
LEF-0016, Maxwell Oil Co., Inc... P.O. Box 1936, Olympia, WA 98507 5/1/79-12/1/79 9/1/81 275.01 Gasoline.
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[FR Doc. 95-9172 Filed 4-12-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P