[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]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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                                                                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                            Date of                                                     
          Case No., firm                        Address               Settlement period     consent         Amount                  Product             
                                                                                             order        received                                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[FR Doc. 95-9172 Filed 4-12-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P