Implementation of Special Refund Procedures, 48947-48949 [05-16555]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 161 / Monday, August 22, 2005 / Notices
of the intervention or protest to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 First St. NE., Washington, DC
20426.
The filings in the above proceedings
are accessible in the Commission’s
eLibrary system by clicking on the
appropriate link in the above list. They
are also available for review in the
Commission’s Public Reference Room in
Washington, DC. There is an
eSubscription link on the Web site that
enables subscribers to receive e-mail
notification when a document is added
to a subscribed dockets(s). For
assistance with any FERC Online
service, please e-mail
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. or call
(866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202) 502–8659.
Linda Mitry,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5–4556 Filed 8–19–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Implementation of Special Refund
Procedures
Office of Hearings and Appeals,
Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of implementation of
special refund procedures.
AGENCY:
The Office of Hearings and
Appeals (OHA) of the Department of
Energy (DOE) announces the procedures
for the disbursement of $1,585,576.76,
plus accrued interest, in crude oil
overcharges obtained by the DOE
concerning BPM Ltd., Case No. TEF–
0001, Honeymon Drilling Co., Case No.
TEF–0002, Intercontinental Oil, Case
No. TEF–0003, Knox Oil, Case No. TEF–
0004, Pescar Trading, Case No. TEF–
0005, Shepherd Oil, Inc., Case No. TEF–
0007, Sierra Petroleum Co., Case No.
TEF–0008, Thriftway Co., Case No.
TEF–0010, and Western Refining Co.
(Robert J. Martin), Case No. TEF–0011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard A. Cronin, Jr., Assistant
Director, Office of Hearings and
Appeals, 1000 Independence Ave., SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–1615, (202) 287–
1589, richard.cronin@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with 10 CFR 205.282(b),
notice is hereby given of the issuance of
the Decision and Order set out below.
The Decision sets forth the procedures
that the DOE has formulated to
distribute to eligible claimants
$1,585,576.76, plus accrued interest,
obtained by the DOE from BPM Ltd.,
SUMMARY:
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:09 Aug 19, 2005
Jkt 205001
Honeymon Drilling Co., Intercontinental
Oil, Knox Oil, Pescar Trading, Shepherd
Oil, Inc., Sierra Petroleum Co.,
Thriftway Co., and Western Refining Co.
(Robert J. Martin).
The OHA will distribute these funds
in the currently-existing crude oil
refund proceeding described in the
Decision and Order. Because the
deadline for filing crude oil refund
applications has passed, no new
applications for refund for the alleged
(or established) crude oil pricing
violations of the listed firms will be
accepted for these funds.
Dated: August 16, 2005.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Decision and Order
Department of Energy
Implementation of Special Refund
Procedures
Names of Firms: BPM Ltd.,
Honeymon Drilling Co., Intercontinental
Oil, Knox Oil, Pescar Trading, Shepherd
Oil, Inc., Sierra Petroleum Co.,
Thriftway Co., Western Refining Co.
(Robert J. Martin).
Date of Filing: June 21, 2005.
Case Numbers: TEF–0001, TEF–0002,
TEF–0003, TEF–0004, TEF–0005, TEF–
0007, TEF–0008, TEF–0010, TEF–0011.
I. Background
The Office of General Counsel (OGC)
of the Department of Energy (DOE) filed
a Petition requesting that the Office of
Hearings and Appeals (OHA) formulate
and implement Subpart V special
refund proceedings. Under the
procedural regulations of the DOE,
special refund proceedings may be
implemented to refund monies to
persons injured by violations of the DOE
petroleum price regulations, provided
DOE is unable to readily identify such
persons or to ascertain the amount of
any refund. 10 CFR 205.280. We have
considered OGC’s request to formulate
refund procedures for the disbursement
of monies remitted by the following
firms pursuant to administrative or
judicial decisions or in settlement of the
DOE allegations that the firms had
violated the DOE petroleum price
control and allocation regulations: BPM
Ltd., Honeymon Drilling Co.,
Intercontinental Oil, Knox Oil, Pescar
Trading, Shepherd Oil, Inc., Sierra
Petroleum Co., Thriftway Co., Western
Refining Co. (Robert J. Martin).
In its Petition, OGC states that is has
been unable to reasonably identify
persons harmed as a result of these
firms’ alleged violations, or to
reasonably ascertain the amount of the
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48947
refund to any person that might have
been harmed. We therefore have
determined that the refund procedures
requested by OGC are appropriate.
A total of $1,585,576.76 has been
remitted to DOE by these firms to
remedy violations that occurred during
the relevant audit periods. These funds
are being held in an escrow account
established with the United States
Treasury pending a determination of
their proper distribution. This Decision
sets forth OHA’s plan to distribute those
funds.
II. Jurisdiction and Authority
The general guidelines that govern
OHA’s ability to formulate and
implement a plan to distribute refunds
are set forth at 10 CFR part 205, subpart
V. These procedures apply in situations
where the DOE cannot readily identify
the persons who were injured as a result
of actual or alleged violations of the
regulations or ascertain the amount of
the refund each person should receive.
For a more detailed discussion of
subpart V and the authority of the OHA
to fashion procedures to distribute
refunds, see Office of Enforcement, 9
DOE ¶ 82,508 (1981) and Office of
Enforcement, 8 DOE ¶ 82,597 (1981).
On June 28, 2005, the OHA issued a
Proposed Decision and Order (PD&O)
establishing tentative procedures to
distribute the funds remitted. That
PD&O was published in the Federal
Register, and a 30-day period was
provided for the submission of
comments regarding our proposed
refund plan. See 70 FR 38901 (July 6,
2005). More than 30 days have elapsed
and OHA has received no comments
concerning these proposed refund
procedures. Consequently, the
procedures will be adopted as proposed.
III. Refund Procedures
A. Allocation of Remitted Funds
The alleged violations by the abovenamed firms all concerned the sale of
crude oil. Under these circumstances,
all of the funds remitted will be
allocated for restitution for parties
injured by the firms’ alleged violations
of the crude oil regulations.
B. Refund Procedures for Crude Oil
Violations
The funds will be distributed in
accordance with the DOE’s Modified
Statement of Restitutionary Policy in
Crude Oil Cases, (MSRP), see 51 FR
27899 (August 4, 1986). Pursuant to the
MSRP, OHA may reserve up to 20
percent of those funds for direct refunds
to applicants who claim that they were
injured by the crude oil violations. The
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
48948
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 161 / Monday, August 22, 2005 / Notices
remaining funds are distributed to the
States and Federal government for
indirect restitution. We will distribute
the funds remitted in accordance with
the MSRP, which was issued as a result
of the Settlement Agreement approved
by the court in The Department of
Energy Stripper Well Exemption
Litigation, 653 F. Supp. 108 (D. Kan.
1986). Shortly after the issuance of the
MSRP, the OHA issued an Order that
announced that this policy would be
applied in all subpart V proceedings
involving alleged crude oil violations.
See Order Implementing the MSRP, 51
FR 29,689 (August 20, 1986) (the August
1986 Order).
Under the MSRP, 40 percent of crude
oil overcharge funds will be disbursed
to the Federal government, another 40
percent to the states, and up to 20
percent may initially be reserved for the
payment of claims to injured parties.
The MSRP also specified that any funds
remaining after all valid claims by
injured purchasers are paid will be
disbursed to the Federal government
and the States in equal amounts.
In April 1987, the OHA issued a
Notice analyzing the numerous
comments received in response to the
August 1986 Order. 52 FR 11,737 (April
10, 1987) (April 10 Notice). This Notice
provided guidance to claimants that
anticipated filing refund applications
for crude oil monies under the subpart
V regulations. In general, we stated that
all claimants would be required to (1)
document their purchase volumes of
petroleum products during the August
19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 crude
oil price control period, and (2) prove
that they were injured by the alleged
crude oil overcharges. Applicants who
were end-users or ultimate consumers of
petroleum products, whose businesses
are unrelated to the petroleum industry,
and who were not subject to the DOE
price regulations would be presumed to
have been injured by any alleged crude
oil overcharges. In order to receive a
refund, end-users would not need to
submit any further evidence of injury
beyond the volume of petroleum
products purchased during the period of
price controls. See City of Columbus
Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).
1. Individual Refund Claims
The amount of money obtained from
the listed firms intended for restitution
of crude oil violations is $1,585,576.76
plus accrued interest. In accordance
with the MSRP, we shall initially
reserve 20 percent of those funds
($317,115.36 plus accrued interest) for
direct refunds to applicants who claim
that they were injured by crude oil
overcharges. We shall base refunds on a
volumetric amount which has been
calculated in accordance with the
methodology described in the April 10
Notice. That volumetric refund amount
is currently $0.0016 per gallon. See 57
FR 15562 (March 24, 1995). On May 13,
2004, we announced final procedures
for the distribution of the remaining
crude oil overcharge funds held by DOE,
and estimated that all remaining funds
would result in an additional
volumetric refund amount of $0.00072
per gallon. See 69 FR 29300 (May 21,
2004).
The filing deadline for refund
applications in the crude oil refund
proceeding was June 30, 1994. This was
subsequently changed to June 30, 1995.
See Filing Deadline Notice, 60 FR 19914
(April 20, 1995); see also DMLP PDO, 60
FR 32004, 32007 (June 19, 1995).
Because the June 30, 1995, deadline for
crude oil refund applications has
passed, no new applications for
restitution from purchasers of refined
petroleum products based on the alleged
(or established) crude oil pricing
violations will be accepted for these
funds. Instead, these funds will be
added to the general crude oil
overcharge pool used for direct
restitution.
2. Payments to the States and Federal
Government
Under the terms of the MSRP, the
remaining 80 percent of the crude oil
violation amounts subject to this
Decision, or $1,268,461.40 plus accrued
interest, should be disbursed in equal
shares to the States and Federal
Government, for indirect restitution.
Refunds to the states will be in
proportion to the consumption of
petroleum products in each state during
Name of firm
OHA case no.
BPM, Ltd. .................................................................
Honeymon Drilling Co., Ltd. .....................................
Intercontinental Oil Co., Inc. ....................................
Knox Oil ...................................................................
Pescar International Trading Corp ...........................
Shephard Oil, Inc. ....................................................
Sierra Petroleum Co. ...............................................
Thriftway Company ..................................................
Western Refining Co. ...............................................
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:09 Aug 19, 2005
Jkt 205001
PO 00000
TEF–0001
TEF–0002
TEF–0003
TEF–0004
TEF–0005
TEF–0007
TEF–0008
TEF–0010
TEF–0011
Frm 00017
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
Fmt 4703
the period of price controls. The share
or ratio of the funds which each state
will receive is contained in Exhibit H of
the Stripper Well Settlement
Agreement. 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
Agreement.
Accordingly, we will direct the DOE’s
Office of the Controller to transfer onehalf of that amount, or $634,230.70 plus
interest, into an interest bearing
subaccount for the states, and one-half
or $634,230.70 plus interest, into an
interest bearing subaccount for the
Federal government.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Director of Special Accounts
and Payroll, Office of Departmental
Accounting and Financial Systems
Development, Controller’s Office,
Department of Energy, shall take all
steps necessary to transfer the funds
remitted by the 9 firms listed in the
Appendix to this determination, plus
accrued interest, pursuant to Paragraphs
(2), (3), and (4) below.
(2) The Director of Special Accounts
and Payroll shall transfer $634,230.70,
plus 40 percent of all accrued interest
on the funds referenced in Paragraph (1)
above, into the subaccount denominated
‘‘Crude Tracking-States,’’ Account No.
999DOE003W.
(3) The Director of Special Accounts
and Payroll shall transfer $634,230.70,
plus 40 percent of all accrued interest
on the funds referenced in Paragraph (1)
above, into the subaccount denominated
‘‘Crude Tracking-Federal,’’ Account No.
999DOE002W.
(4) The Director of Special Accounts
and Payroll shall transfer $317,115.36,
plus 20 percent of all accrued interest
on the funds referenced in Paragraph (1)
above, into the subaccount denominated
‘‘Crude Tracking-Claimants 4,’’ Account
No. 999DOE010Z.
Dated: August 16, 2005.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
APPENDIX
Consent order tracking system (COTS) no.
6C0X00230W ...........................................................
BWBBBBBBBB ........................................................
650X00282W ...........................................................
BLBBBBBBBB ..........................................................
650X000345W .........................................................
640X00439W ...........................................................
740C01128Z ............................................................
BCBBBBBBBB .........................................................
N00S90458W ...........................................................
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
Principal
$621,220.04
359.00
48,750.28
2,989.00
28,044.49
150,000.00
21,939.89
97,380.14
614,893.92
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 161 / Monday, August 22, 2005 / Notices
Name of firm
OHA case no.
Total ..................................................................
[FR Doc. 05–16555 Filed 8–19–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[AD–FRL–7957–3; Docket No. OAR–2005–
0157]
Conference on Air Quality Modeling
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of conference.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We announce the Eighth
Conference on Air Quality Modeling.
Such a conference is required by section
three hundred twenty of the Clean Air
Act (CAA) to be held every three years.
The purposes of the Eighth Conference
are to provide an overview of the latest
features of the new air quality models
and to provide a forum for public
review and comment on potential
revisions to the way the Agency
determines and applies the appropriate
air quality models in the future.
DATES: The eighth conference will be
held on September 22, 2005 from 9 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. and on September 23, 2005
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Requests to
speak at the conference should be
submitted to the individual listed below
by September 9, 2005. All written
comments must be submitted by close of
business October 24, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Conference: The conference
will be held in the EPA Auditorium,
Room C111, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive,
Research Triangle Park, NC.
Comments: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. OAR–2005–
0157 by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
Agency Web site: https://www.epa.gov/
edocket. EDOCKET, EPA’s electronic
public docket and comment system, is
EPA’s preferred method for receiving
comments. Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: https://www.epa.gov/edocket.
Fax: 202–566–1741. Mail: OAR Docket,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode: B102, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Please include a total of 2 copies. Hand
Delivery: EPA/DC, EPA West, Room
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC. Such deliveries are
only accepted during the Docket’s
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:09 Aug 19, 2005
Jkt 205001
......................
Consent order tracking system (COTS) no.
..............................................................................
normal hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. OAR–2005–0157. EPA’s
policy is that all comments received
will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made
available online at https://www.epa.gov/
edocket, including any personal
information provided, unless the
comment includes information claimed
to be Confidential Business Information
(CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do
not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through EDOCKET,
regulations.gov, or e-mail. The EPA
EDOCKET and the Federal
regulations.gov Web sites are
‘‘anonymous access’’ systems, which
means EPA will not know your identity
or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an e-mail comment directly
to EPA without going through
EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses. For additional information
about EPA’s public docket visit
EDOCKET on-line or see the Federal
Register of May 31, 2002 (67 FR 38102).
For additional instructions on
submitting comments, go to unit II of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this document. Docket: All
documents in the docket are listed in
the EDOCKET index at https://
www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed
in the index, some information is not
publicly available, i.e., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material,
is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy
form. Publicly available docket
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48949
Principal
1,585,576.76
materials are available either
electronically in EDOCKET or in hard
copy at the OAR Docket, EPA/DC, EPA
West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. The telephone
number for the Public Reading Room is
(202) 566–1744, and the telephone
number for the OAR Docket is (202)
566–1742.
Background information: Additional
information and a more detailed agenda
are electronically available at https://
www.epa.gov/scram001/
8thmodconf.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Warren Peters, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Mail Drop D243–01,
T.W. Alexander Drive, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27709; telephone:
(919) 541–5337; e-mail address:
peters.warren@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Guideline on Air Quality Models
(hereafter, called the Guideline, which
is found in Appendix W to 40 CFR part
51), is used by EPA, States, and industry
to prepare and review new source
permits and State Implementation Plan
revisions. The Guideline serves as a
means by which consistency is
maintained in air quality analyses. We
originally published the Guideline in
April 1978 and it was incorporated by
reference in the regulations for the
Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD) of Air Quality in June 1978. We
revised the Guideline in 1986, and
updated it with supplement A in 1987,
supplement B in July 1993, and
supplement C in August 1995. We
published the Guideline as appendix W
to 40 CFR part 51 when we issued
supplement B. We republished the
Guideline in August 1996 (61 FR 41838)
to adopt the CFR system for labeling
paragraphs.
To support the process of developing
and revising the Guideline during the
period 1977–1988, we held the First,
Second and Third Conferences on Air
Quality Modeling as required by Section
320 of the Clean Air Act to help
standardize modeling procedures. These
modeling conferences provided us with
comments on the Guideline and
associated revisions, thereby helping us
introduce improved modeling
techniques into the regulatory process.
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 161 (Monday, August 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48947-48949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16555]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (DOE) announces the procedures for the disbursement of
$1,585,576.76, plus accrued interest, in crude oil overcharges obtained
by the DOE concerning BPM Ltd., Case No. TEF-0001, Honeymon Drilling
Co., Case No. TEF-0002, Intercontinental Oil, Case No. TEF-0003, Knox
Oil, Case No. TEF-0004, Pescar Trading, Case No. TEF-0005, Shepherd
Oil, Inc., Case No. TEF-0007, Sierra Petroleum Co., Case No. TEF-0008,
Thriftway Co., Case No. TEF-0010, and Western Refining Co. (Robert J.
Martin), Case No. TEF-0011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard A. Cronin, Jr., Assistant
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 1000 Independence Ave., SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-1615, (202) 287-1589, richard.cronin@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 10 CFR 205.282(b), notice
is hereby given of the issuance of the Decision and Order set out
below. The Decision sets forth the procedures that the DOE has
formulated to distribute to eligible claimants $1,585,576.76, plus
accrued interest, obtained by the DOE from BPM Ltd., Honeymon Drilling
Co., Intercontinental Oil, Knox Oil, Pescar Trading, Shepherd Oil,
Inc., Sierra Petroleum Co., Thriftway Co., and Western Refining Co.
(Robert J. Martin).
The OHA will distribute these funds in the currently-existing crude
oil refund proceeding described in the Decision and Order. Because the
deadline for filing crude oil refund applications has passed, no new
applications for refund for the alleged (or established) crude oil
pricing violations of the listed firms will be accepted for these
funds.
Dated: August 16, 2005.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Decision and Order
Department of Energy
Implementation of Special Refund Procedures
Names of Firms: BPM Ltd., Honeymon Drilling Co., Intercontinental
Oil, Knox Oil, Pescar Trading, Shepherd Oil, Inc., Sierra Petroleum
Co., Thriftway Co., Western Refining Co. (Robert J. Martin).
Date of Filing: June 21, 2005.
Case Numbers: TEF-0001, TEF-0002, TEF-0003, TEF-0004, TEF-0005,
TEF-0007, TEF-0008, TEF-0010, TEF-0011.
I. Background
The Office of General Counsel (OGC) of the Department of Energy
(DOE) filed a Petition requesting that the Office of Hearings and
Appeals (OHA) formulate and implement Subpart V special refund
proceedings. Under the procedural regulations of the DOE, special
refund proceedings may be implemented to refund monies to persons
injured by violations of the DOE petroleum price regulations, provided
DOE is unable to readily identify such persons or to ascertain the
amount of any refund. 10 CFR 205.280. We have considered OGC's request
to formulate refund procedures for the disbursement of monies remitted
by the following firms pursuant to administrative or judicial decisions
or in settlement of the DOE allegations that the firms had violated the
DOE petroleum price control and allocation regulations: BPM Ltd.,
Honeymon Drilling Co., Intercontinental Oil, Knox Oil, Pescar Trading,
Shepherd Oil, Inc., Sierra Petroleum Co., Thriftway Co., Western
Refining Co. (Robert J. Martin).
In its Petition, OGC states that is has been unable to reasonably
identify persons harmed as a result of these firms' alleged violations,
or to reasonably ascertain the amount of the refund to any person that
might have been harmed. We therefore have determined that the refund
procedures requested by OGC are appropriate.
A total of $1,585,576.76 has been remitted to DOE by these firms to
remedy violations that occurred during the relevant audit periods.
These funds are being held in an escrow account established with the
United States Treasury pending a determination of their proper
distribution. This Decision sets forth OHA's plan to distribute those
funds.
II. Jurisdiction and Authority
The general guidelines that govern OHA's ability to formulate and
implement a plan to distribute refunds are set forth at 10 CFR part
205, subpart V. These procedures apply in situations where the DOE
cannot readily identify the persons who were injured as a result of
actual or alleged violations of the regulations or ascertain the amount
of the refund each person should receive. For a more detailed
discussion of subpart V and the authority of the OHA to fashion
procedures to distribute refunds, see Office of Enforcement, 9 DOE ]
82,508 (1981) and Office of Enforcement, 8 DOE ] 82,597 (1981).
On June 28, 2005, the OHA issued a Proposed Decision and Order
(PD&O) establishing tentative procedures to distribute the funds
remitted. That PD&O was published in the Federal Register, and a 30-day
period was provided for the submission of comments regarding our
proposed refund plan. See 70 FR 38901 (July 6, 2005). More than 30 days
have elapsed and OHA has received no comments concerning these proposed
refund procedures. Consequently, the procedures will be adopted as
proposed.
III. Refund Procedures
A. Allocation of Remitted Funds
The alleged violations by the above-named firms all concerned the
sale of crude oil. Under these circumstances, all of the funds remitted
will be allocated for restitution for parties injured by the firms'
alleged violations of the crude oil regulations.
B. Refund Procedures for Crude Oil Violations
The funds will be distributed in accordance with the DOE's Modified
Statement of Restitutionary Policy in Crude Oil Cases, (MSRP), see 51
FR 27899 (August 4, 1986). Pursuant to the MSRP, OHA may reserve up to
20 percent of those funds for direct refunds to applicants who claim
that they were injured by the crude oil violations. The
[[Page 48948]]
remaining funds are distributed to the States and Federal government
for indirect restitution. We will distribute the funds remitted in
accordance with the MSRP, which was issued as a result of the
Settlement Agreement approved by the court in The Department of Energy
Stripper Well Exemption Litigation, 653 F. Supp. 108 (D. Kan. 1986).
Shortly after the issuance of the MSRP, the OHA issued an Order that
announced that this policy would be applied in all subpart V
proceedings involving alleged crude oil violations. See Order
Implementing the MSRP, 51 FR 29,689 (August 20, 1986) (the August 1986
Order).
Under the MSRP, 40 percent of crude oil overcharge funds will be
disbursed to the Federal government, another 40 percent to the states,
and up to 20 percent may initially be reserved for the payment of
claims to injured parties. The MSRP also specified that any funds
remaining after all valid claims by injured purchasers are paid will be
disbursed to the Federal government and the States in equal amounts.
In April 1987, the OHA issued a Notice analyzing the numerous
comments received in response to the August 1986 Order. 52 FR 11,737
(April 10, 1987) (April 10 Notice). This Notice provided guidance to
claimants that anticipated filing refund applications for crude oil
monies under the subpart V regulations. In general, we stated that all
claimants would be required to (1) document their purchase volumes of
petroleum products during the August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981
crude oil price control period, and (2) prove that they were injured by
the alleged crude oil overcharges. Applicants who were end-users or
ultimate consumers of petroleum products, whose businesses are
unrelated to the petroleum industry, and who were not subject to the
DOE price regulations would be presumed to have been injured by any
alleged crude oil overcharges. In order to receive a refund, end-users
would not need to submit any further evidence of injury beyond the
volume of petroleum products purchased during the period of price
controls. See City of Columbus Georgia, 16 DOE ] 85,550 (1987).
1. Individual Refund Claims
The amount of money obtained from the listed firms intended for
restitution of crude oil violations is $1,585,576.76 plus accrued
interest. In accordance with the MSRP, we shall initially reserve 20
percent of those funds ($317,115.36 plus accrued interest) for direct
refunds to applicants who claim that they were injured by crude oil
overcharges. We shall base refunds on a volumetric amount which has
been calculated in accordance with the methodology described in the
April 10 Notice. That volumetric refund amount is currently $0.0016 per
gallon. See 57 FR 15562 (March 24, 1995). On May 13, 2004, we announced
final procedures for the distribution of the remaining crude oil
overcharge funds held by DOE, and estimated that all remaining funds
would result in an additional volumetric refund amount of $0.00072 per
gallon. See 69 FR 29300 (May 21, 2004).
The filing deadline for refund applications in the crude oil refund
proceeding was June 30, 1994. This was subsequently changed to June 30,
1995. See Filing Deadline Notice, 60 FR 19914 (April 20, 1995); see
also DMLP PDO, 60 FR 32004, 32007 (June 19, 1995). Because the June 30,
1995, deadline for crude oil refund applications has passed, no new
applications for restitution from purchasers of refined petroleum
products based on the alleged (or established) crude oil pricing
violations will be accepted for these funds. Instead, these funds will
be added to the general crude oil overcharge pool used for direct
restitution.
2. Payments to the States and Federal Government
Under the terms of the MSRP, the remaining 80 percent of the crude
oil violation amounts subject to this Decision, or $1,268,461.40 plus
accrued interest, should be disbursed in equal shares to the States and
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. The share or ratio of the
funds which each state will receive is contained in Exhibit H of the
Stripper Well Settlement Agreement. 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
Agreement.
Accordingly, we will direct the DOE's Office of the Controller to
transfer one-half of that amount, or $634,230.70 plus interest, into an
interest bearing subaccount for the states, and one-half or $634,230.70
plus interest, into an interest bearing subaccount for the Federal
government.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of
Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Controller's
Office, Department of Energy, shall take all steps necessary to
transfer the funds remitted by the 9 firms listed in the Appendix to
this determination, plus accrued interest, pursuant to Paragraphs (2),
(3), and (4) below.
(2) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll shall transfer
$634,230.70, plus 40 percent of all accrued interest on the funds
referenced in Paragraph (1) above, into the subaccount denominated
``Crude Tracking-States,'' Account No. 999DOE003W.
(3) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll shall transfer
$634,230.70, plus 40 percent of all accrued interest on the funds
referenced in Paragraph (1) above, into the subaccount denominated
``Crude Tracking-Federal,'' Account No. 999DOE002W.
(4) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll shall transfer
$317,115.36, plus 20 percent of all accrued interest on the funds
referenced in Paragraph (1) above, into the subaccount denominated
``Crude Tracking-Claimants 4,'' Account No. 999DOE010Z.
Dated: August 16, 2005.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
APPENDIX
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consent order tracking
Name of firm OHA case no. system (COTS) no. Principal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BPM, Ltd............................. TEF-0001..................... 6C0X00230W............. $621,220.04
Honeymon Drilling Co., Ltd........... TEF-0002..................... BWBBBBBBBB............. 359.00
Intercontinental Oil Co., Inc........ TEF-0003..................... 650X00282W............. 48,750.28
Knox Oil............................. TEF-0004..................... BLBBBBBBBB............. 2,989.00
Pescar International Trading Corp.... TEF-0005..................... 650X000345W............ 28,044.49
Shephard Oil, Inc.................... TEF-0007..................... 640X00439W............. 150,000.00
Sierra Petroleum Co.................. TEF-0008..................... 740C01128Z............. 21,939.89
Thriftway Company.................... TEF-0010..................... BCBBBBBBBB............. 97,380.14
Western Refining Co.................. TEF-0011..................... N00S90458W............. 614,893.92
------------------
[[Page 48949]]
Total............................ ............................. ....................... 1,585,576.76
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 05-16555 Filed 8-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
