60708 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 1997 / Notices

1For 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.

4501–07, and Office of Enforcement, 9 DOE ¶82,508

(1981).

LIST OF CASES RECEIVED BY THE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

[Week of September 15 through September 19, 1997]

Date Name and location of applicant Case No. Type of submission

9/17/97 .......... VSO–0175 .................................................... Personnel Security

Hearing

Request for Hearing Under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. If granted:

An individual employed by the Department of Energy

would receive a hearing under 10 C.F.R. Part 710.

9/17/97 Personnel Security Hearing.VSO–0176 .................................................... Personnel Security

Hearing

Request for Hearing Under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. If granted:

An individual employed by the Department of Energy

would receive a hearing under 10 C.F.R. Part 710.

9/17/97 .......... Personnel Security Hearing .......................... VSO–0177 Request for Hearing Under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. If granted:

An individual employed by the Department of Energy

would receive a hearing under 10 C.F.R. Part 710.

9/18/97 .......... Personnel Security Hearing .......................... VSA–0139 Request for Review of Opinion under 10 C.F.R. Part 710.

If granted: The August 14, 1997 Opinion of the Office of

Hearings and Appeals Case No. VSO–0139 would be

reviewed at the request of an individual employed by the

Department of Energy.

9/19/97 .......... Pillsbury Co., Minneapolis, MN .................... RR272–303 Request for Modification/Rescission.

[FR Doc. 97–29741 Filed 11–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Implementation of Special Refund

Procedures

AGENCY: Office of Hearings and Appeals,

Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of implementation of

special refund procedures.

SUMMARY: The Office of Hearings and

Appeals (OHA) of the Department of

Energy announces the procedures for

disbursement of $2,451,396 (plus

accrued interest) in alleged or

adjudicated crude oil overcharges

obtained by the DOE from Crude Oil

Purchasing, Incorporated (Case No.

LEF–0058), Jaguar Petroleum,

Incorporated (Case No. LEF–0059),

Westport Energy Corporation/Westport

Petroleum Corporation (Case No. LEF–

0113), and Gratex Corporation/Compton

Corporation (Case No. VEF–0012). The

OHA has determined that the funds

obtained from these firms, plus accrued

interest, will be distributed in

accordance with the DOE’s Modified

Statement of Restitutionary Policy in

Crude Oil Cases, 51 FR 27899 (August

4, 1986).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bryan F. MacPherson, Assistant

Director, Office of Hearings and

Appeals, Washington, DC 20585–0107,

(202) 426–1571.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

accordance with 10 CFR 205.282(c),

notice is hereby given of the issuance of

the Decision and Order set forth below.

The Decision and Order sets forth

procedures that the DOE will use to

distribute a total of $2,451,396, plus

accrued interest, remitted to the DOE by

(1) Crude Oil Purchasing, Incorporated,

(2) Jaguar Petroleum, Incorporated, (3)

Westport Energy Corporation &

Westport Petroleum Corporation, and

(4) Gratex Corporation/Compton

Corporation. The DOE is currently

holding these funds in interest bearing

escrow accounts pending distribution.

The OHA will distribute these funds

in accordance with the DOE’s Modified

Statement of Restitutionary Policy in

Crude Oil Cases, 51 FR 27899 (August

4, 1986)(the MSRP). Under the MSRP,

crude oil overcharge moneys are

divided among the federal government,

the states, and injured purchasers of

refined petroleum products. Refunds to

the states will be distributed in

proportion to each state’s consumption

of petroleum products during the price

control period. Refunds to eligible

purchasers will be based on the volume

of petroleum products that they

purchased and the extent to which they

can demonstrate injury. Because the

June 30, 1995, deadline for the crude oil

refund applications has passed, no new

applications from purchasers of refined

petroleum products will be accepted.

Dated: October 29, 1997.

George B. Breznay,

Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Decision and Order of the Department

of Energy

Implementation of Special Refund

Procedures

Names of Firms: Crude Oil

Purchasing, Incorporation; Jaguar

Petroleum, Incorporated; Westport

Energy Corporation & Westport

Petroleum Corporation; Gratex

Corporation/Compton Corporation.

Dates of Filings: July 20, 1993; July 20,

1993; September 9, 1993; March 23,

1995.

Case Numbers: LEF–0058, LEF–0059,

LEF–0113, VEF–0012.

The Economic Regulatory

Administration (ERA) of the Department

of Energy filed four Petitions for the

Implementation of Special Refund

Procedures with the Office of Hearings

and Appeals (OHA). In the petitions,

ERA asks OHA to distribute funds

remitted to the DOE pursuant to

settlements between Crude Oil

Purchasing, Incorporated (COP), Jaguar

Petroleum, Incorporated (Jaguar),

Westport Energy Corporation &

Westport Petroleum Corporation

(Westport), Gratex Corporation and its

parent, Compton Corporation (Gratex/

Compton). A total of $2,451,396, plus

interest, is available for restitution. All

of these funds are now being held in

interest-bearing escrow accounts

pending a determination regarding their

proper disposition.

In accordance with the procedural

regulations codified at 10 C.F.R. Part

205, Subpart V, the ERA requests in its

Petitions that the OHA establish special

refund procedures to remedy the effects

of any regulatory violations which were

resolved by these settlements. This

Decision and Order sets forth the OHA’s

final plan to distribute these funds.1

I. Background

On September 21, 1982, DOE and

COP entered into a Consent Order

which resolved all pending or potential

claims that DOE had or may have
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 1997 / Notices 60709

2 It is no longer possible to file an Application for

Refund from the crude oil funds as the final

deadline for such Applications was June 30, 1995.

See 60 FR 19914 (April 21, 1995). A party that

submitted a timely claim in the crude oil refund

proceeding need not file another claim in order to

share in the funds at issue in this Decision. OHA

is currently paying crude oil refund claims at the

rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether

additional refunds will be made when we are better

able to determine how much additional money will

be collected from firms that have either outstanding

obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases

currently in litigation.

against COP relating to COP’s

compliance with the federal petroleum

price and allocation regulations during

the period from January 1, 1973 to

January 27, 1981. There is a total of

$93,750, plus interest, available from

COP for restitution.

On May 31, 1983, DOE and Jaguar

entered into a Consent Order which

resolved all pending or potential claims

that DOE had or may have against Jaguar

relating to Jaguar’s compliance with the

federal petroleum price and allocation

regulations during the period from

November 14, 1979 to January 27, 1981.

There is a total of $64,500, plus interest,

available from Jaguar for restitution.

On May 11, 1983, the EAR issued a

Proposed Remedial Order (PRO) to

Westport alleging overcharges in the

resale of crude oil during the period

from June 1980 to November 1980. OHA

dismissed this PRO after Westport was

discharged in bankruptcy and DOE was

entitled to receive payments under the

bankruptcy reorganization plan. Under

Westport’s Second Amended

Liquidating Plan of Reorganization,

approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court

for the District of Colorado on July 30,

1986, Westport was required to make

payments to DOE, and OHA was

directed to distribute to the Westport

escrow account %35 of any refunds that

it granted to Westport in other refund

proceedings. Thus far, DOE has

collected a total of $126,172 from

Westport. That amount, plus interest, is

available for restitution.

ERA filed claims in the bankruptcy

cases of Gratex and Compton alleging

overcharges in the resale of crude oil

during the period from December 1978

to December 1980. On April 27, 1984,

ERA issued a PRO to Gratex and

Compton based on these same facts. On

October 18, 1988, the United States

Bankruptcy Court for the Northern

District of Texas approved a

Compromise Agreement in the Gratex

proceeding which obligated Gratex to

pay DOE a lump sum plus a percentage

of future distributions made to

unsecured creditors. In 1992, the United

States Bankruptcy Court for the

Northern District of Texas approved a

compromise agreement in the Compton

proceeding. Thus far, Gratex and

Compton have paid to the DOE the sum

of $2,166,974. This amount, plus

interest, is available for restitution.

II. The Proposed Refund Procedures

On April 22, 1997, we issued a

proposed Decision and Order (PDO) that

tentatively concluded that ERA’s

Petitions for the Implementation of

Special Refund Procedures with respect

to the funds collected from these four

firms should be approved. Notice of

Proposed Implementation of Special

Refund Procedures, 62 Fed. Reg. 23444

(April 30, 1997). In each case, we

proposed to distribute these funds in

accordance with the DOE’s Modified

Statement of Restitutionary Policy in

Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899

(August 4, 1986) (the MSRP). The MSRP

has been the basis for the distribution in

these Subpart V proceedings of all crude

oil funds DOE has obtained. See Order

Implementing the MSRP, 51 Fed. Reg.

29689 (August 20, 1986); Notice

regarding the Order Implementing the

MSRP, 52 Fed. Reg. 11737 (April 10,

1987).

The MSRP was issued as a result of

a court-approved Settlement Agreement.

In re: The Department of Energy

Stripper Well Exemption Litigation, 653

F. Supp. 108 (D. Kan. 1986) (the

Stripper Well Settlement Agreement).

The MSRP establishes that 40 percent of

the crude oil funds will be remitted to

the federal government, another 40

percent to the states, and up to 20

percent may be initially reserved for

payment of claims to injured parties.

The MSRP also specifies that any

monies remaining after all valid claims

by injured purchasers are paid be

disbursed to the federal government and

the states in equal amounts.

OHA did not receive any comments

on the PDO, and we adopt its tentative

determination to distribute the funds

remitted by COP, Jaguar, Westport, and

Gratex/Compton in accordance with the

MSRP. Accordingly, we will reserve 20

percent of these funds for direct refunds

to claimants.2 The remaining 80 percent

of the funds collected from these firms

shall be disbursed in equal shares to the

states and the federal government for

indirect restitution. Refunds to the

states will be in proportion to the

consumption of petroleum products in

each state during the period of price

controls, as set forth in Exhibit H of the

Stripper Well Settlement Agreement, 6

Fed. Energy Guidelines ¶ 90,509 at

90,687. When disbursed, these funds

will be subject to the same limitations

and reporting requirements as all other

crude oil monies received by the states

under the Stripper Well Settlement

Agreement. If additional funds are

subsequently collected from these firms

after the issuance of this Decision and

Order, such funds shall be distributed in

the same manner.

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 all

steps necessary to transfer the full

balances from the following accounts:

approximately $93,750, plus all accrued

interest, from the Crude Oil Purchasing,

Incorporated subaccount (Account No.

6A0X00269T), approximately $64,500

plus all accrued interest from the Jaguar

Petroleum, Incorporated subaccount

(Account No. 640X00444T),

approximately $126,172, plus all

accrued interest from the Westport

Energy Corporation & Westport

Petroleum Corporation subaccount

(Account No. 6C0X00292Z),

approximately $2,166,974 plus all

accrued interest from the Gratex

Corporation/Compton Corporation

subaccount (Account No.

6A0X00340W), for a total of

approximately $2,451,396, plus all

accrued interest, pursuant to Paragraphs

(2), (3), and (4) of this Decision.

(2) The Director of Special Accounts

and Payroll shall transfer $980,558 (plus

interest) of the funds obtained pursuant

to Paragraph (1) above into the

subaccount denominated ‘‘Crude

Tracking—States,’’ Number

999DOE003W.

(3) The Director of Special Accounts

and Payroll shall transfer $980,558 (plus

interest) of the funds obtained pursuant

to Paragraph (1) above into the

subaccount denominated ‘‘Crude

Tracking—Federal,’’ Number

999DOE002W.

(4) The Director of Special Accounts

and Payroll shall transfer $490,280 (plus

interest) of the funds obtained pursuant

to Paragraph (1) above into the

subaccount denominated ‘‘Crude

Tracking—Claimants 4,’’ Number

999DOE010Z.

(5) This is a final Order of the

Department of Energy.

Dated: October 29, 1997.

George B. Breznay,

Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

[FR Doc. 97–29737 Filed 11–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6550–01–M