83 FR 45916 - Proposed Distribution of Residual Citronelle Settlement Agreement Funds

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 176 (September 11, 2018)

The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) announces the procedures for the disbursement of residual funds (totaling approximately $59,000) remaining in various Citronelle Settlement Agreement escrow accounts to the parties to the Agreement.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45916-45919]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19687]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposed Distribution of Residual Citronelle Settlement Agreement 
Funds

AGENCY: Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of 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 procedures for the disbursement of residual 
funds (totaling approximately $59,000) remaining in various Citronelle 
Settlement Agreement escrow accounts to the parties to the Agreement.

[[Page 45917]]


DATES: Comments are due by October 11, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit written comments 
electronically to: Kristin L. Martin, Attorney-Advisor, Office of 
Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. 
SW, Washington, DC 20585-0107, (202) 287-1550, Email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin L. Martin, Attorney-Advisor, 
Office of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585-0107, (202) 287-1550, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cost of Living Council, a predecessor 
agency of the Department of Energy, acting pursuant to the Economic 
Stabilization Act of 1970, Public Law 91 39, 84 Stat. 796, 799, on 
August 22, 1973, issued a system of price controls on the first sale of 
all domestic production of crude oil. Eventually, regulations were 
promulgated controlling the allocation and prices of many refined 
petroleum products in addition to crude oil and providing for 
enforcement of these regulations. See 10 CFR part 210 et seq.; see also 
Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, Public Law 93-159, Exec. 
Order 11,748, 38 FR 33577 (December 6, 1973) (EPAA); Economic 
Stabilization Act of 1970, as amended, Public Law 92-210, 85 Stat. 743; 
Public Law 93-28, 87 Stat. 27, Exec. Order 11,748, 38 FR 33575 
(December 4, 1973) (ESA); Cost of Living Council Order No. 47, 39 FR 24 
(January 2, 1974).
    The Citronelle Settlement Agreement funds resulted from funds 
collected by the Department of Energy (DOE) in connection with the 
approval of exception relief from the price control regulations in 
effect for the 341 Tract Unit of Citronelle Field (Unit) by the DOE 
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). The 341 Tract Unit of the 
Citronelle Field, 10 DOE ] 81, 207 (1983).
    The Citronelle exception relief spawned years of administrative and 
judicial litigation, including litigation over the final terms and 
conditions of the relief, OHA's authority to grant the relief and the 
evidentiary basis for its decision, and the possible revision or 
termination of the relief. Ultimately, in December 1991, OHA issued a 
decision terminating the exception relief and requiring the transfer of 
the remaining Citronelle exception relief funds to an escrow account in 
the United States Treasury under the supervision of the DOE Controller. 
The 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field, 21 DOE ] 81,009 (1991). In 
Apri1 1992, OHA issued a decision addressing certain claims to the 
Citronelle escrow account funds, establishing deadlines and procedures 
governing claims to the funds, and scheduling an evidentiary 
proceeding. The 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field, 22 DOE ] 85,069 
(1992). In May 1994, OHA issued a Decision and Order setting forth its 
determination of the percentage of the funds that should be allocated 
to various entities. The 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field, 24 DOE 
] 81,035 (1994).
    Those actions led to further litigation. The Unit appealed OHA's 
termination of exception relief decision to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC), which affirmed OHA's decision. The Unit 
then sought judicial review in R.H. Stechman, et al. v. Department of 
Energy, No. 94-0887-A-M (S.D. Ala. 1994).
    In order to avoid further extended judicial proceedings over the 
disposition of the Citronelle escrow account, DOE reached a settlement 
(Settlement Agreement) resolving, first, the claims to the DOE/
Citronelle escrow fund reserved for various Refiner-Litigants and, 
second, the Unit's claims. The settlement agreement resolving the 
claims of the Refiner-Litigants was approved by the United States 
District Court for the Southern District of Texas on December 6, 1995. 
See 61 FR 48946, 48947 (Sept. 17, 1996).
    The Settlement Agreement had five Parties and eight Eligible 
Entities or Groups. The Parties were: The United States, the Department 
of Energy, and specified Refiner-Litigants, Participant States, and 
Participant End-Users. The groups eligible to share in the remaining 
Citronelle funds were: the States, a group of End-Users, various 
Refiners (as defined in the Agreement), a group of Non-Litigant 
Refiners, the Consumers Power Company and various groups of Refiner 
Cooperatives, Cooperatives, and Airlines (as defined in the Agreement). 
The original amount governed by the Agreement was more than 
$63,000,000.00. As of June 2018, approximately $36,200.00 remained in 
the Airlines escrow account and approximately $23,000.00 remained in 
the Non-Litigant Refiners escrow account.
    The Agreement stipulates that funds remaining in the Non-Litigant 
Refiners escrow account after proper distribution to that group must be 
transferred to the Refiner-Litigants. It also stipulates that funds 
remaining in the Airlines escrow account after proper distribution to 
that group are to be distributed in the following proportions:
     2/7 to the United States Treasury;
     2/7 to the States in proportions listed in Exhibit L of 
the Settlement Agreement and detailed below;
     2/7 to the Refiner-Litigants; and
     1/7 to the End-Users
    The Agreement requires that the funds remaining in the End-Users 
account be transferred to the Subpart V Crude Oil Proceeding. However, 
the Subpart V Crude Oil Proceeding closed in 2016, with all remaining 
funds being distributed equally between the United States Treasury and 
the States (in pro-rata proportions defined by that refund proceeding). 
See 69 FR 29300 (May 21, 2004).

I. Proposed Procedure for Final Distribution of Citronelle Settlement 
Agreement Funds

    The Citronelle Settlement Agreement funds will be distributed 
according to the following plan. Any funds remaining after the final 
distributions made in accordance with this plan will be considered 
unclaimed and will be transferred to the U.S. Treasury. Final 
distribution amounts will be calculated using the distribution 
percentages listed in an appendix to this Notice on the day the final 
Notice is published in the Federal Register.

The Non-Litigant Refiners Account

    The Agreement requires that the balance of the Non-Litigant 
Refiners account be distributed to the Refiner-Litigants through an 
escrow account established for that purpose for the initial 
distribution of Citronelle funds and managed by the law firm Miller & 
Chevalier. Miller & Chevalier no longer represents the Refiner-
Litigants. Further, DOE has not been able to obtain documentation 
regarding how previous Citronelle distributions were made among the 
various firms comprising the Refiner-Litigants. In light of these facts 
and because the Citronelle distribution proportions agreed to by the 
Refiner-Litigants were not a part of the Agreement and thus not binding 
on DOE, we propose that the Refiner-Litigant portion of the funds be 
divided in equal proportions for the firms, or successor firms, listed 
in Exhibit A of the Agreement. A list of these firms is included as an 
appendix to this Notice. If a listed firm, or successor firm, does not 
submit the Required Information described below by the specified 
deadline, the funds will be considered unclaimed and will be 
transferred to the U.S. Treasury.

The Airlines Account

    The Airlines account remaining funds will be split according to the 
percentages prescribed in the Settlement

[[Page 45918]]

Agreement. Two sevenths of the Airlines account funds will be 
distributed to the United States Treasury. Two sevenths of the Airlines 
account funds will be distributed to the Refiner-Litigants Escrow 
Account. Two sevenths of the Airlines account funds will be distributed 
to the States in the proportions listed in Exhibit L of the Agreement.
    One seventh of the Airlines account funds will be allocated to the 
End-Users account, which will be distributed in the same proportions as 
the residual Subpart V funds were distributed pursuant to our notice in 
72 FR 46461, 46462 (August 14, 2007). The funds will be split equally, 
with half distributed to the United States Treasury and half 
distributed to the States. The funds distributed to the States will be 
divided in the proportions used for the final distribution of the 
Subpart V funds, which are identical to those listed in Exhibit L of 
the Agreement. All funds distributed to the States are subject to the 
same restricted uses as those received by that State as a result of the 
settlement of the case known as In Re: Stripper Well Litigation, M.D.L. 
No. 378. A list of distribution percentages is included as an appendix 
to this Notice. If a State does not submit the Required Information 
described below by the specified deadline, the funds will be considered 
unclaimed and will be transferred to the U.S. Treasury.

Required Information

    In order to receive its allotted funds, each Recipient, including 
State Recipients, must submit the following no later than the 90th 
calendar day following publication of the Final Plan in the Federal 
Register:
     Statement of Intent: The Statement should be brief and 
include the Recipient's name and the representative's authority to 
claim the Recipient's funds.
     Information Required by the Agreement: The Agreement 
requires that certain Releases of Claims be executed and submitted to 
DOE before Recipients may receive distributions.
    [cir] If a Recipient has not ever submitted the relevant Release of 
Claims, it should contact DOE at the below address to obtain a copy of 
the release, and should submit the executed release with the other 
required information described in this section.
    [cir] If a Recipient has previously submitted the relevant Release 
of Claims, it should submit to DOE a notarized statement certifying 
that it has submitted the release. The notarized statement should be 
submitted with the other required information described in this 
section.
     Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Information: Each 
Recipient must submit all information necessary for DOE to make an 
electronic distribution of funds, including the name and contact 
information (phone number, email address, and mailing address) of a 
person designated to be the Point of Contact, banking information, and 
Tax ID number. DOE will not contact Recipients regarding problems, 
discrepancies, or other issues with EFT information. DOE will notify 
the designated Point of Contact when the EFT is initiated. If an EFT is 
unsuccessful and the Recipient does not contact DOE to correct the 
error by the 14th day following the EFT initiation, the amount not 
distributed will be considered unclaimed and will be transferred to the 
United States Treasury.
    Submissions should in PDF format and must be submitted by email to 
[email protected]. The subject line should include ``Citronelle 
Settlement Agreement Recipient Documents'' and the name of the State or 
other Recipient. The Releases of Claims contained in the Agreement's 
Exhibits may be obtained by contacting Kristin L. Martin, Attorney-
Advisor, Office of Hearings and Appeals, by email at 
[email protected], or by telephone at (202) 287-1550.

II. Appendix A--Proposed Distribution Percentages and List of Refiner-
Litigants

Citronelle Airline Account Funds

Refiner-Litigants 28.57142857142860000%
     Each Refiner-Litigant Entity is entitled to 
0.865800865800867% of the total Airline Account Funds.
United States Treasury 35.71428571428570000%
Alabama 0.54804016064259400%
Alaska 0.13818786523157600%
American Samoa 0.00636083244822057%
Arizona 0.36634454245826900%
Arkansas 0.45449277491405100%
California 3.26944016176838000%
Colorado 0.38401187480512000%
Connecticut 0.60652108584973400%
Delaware 0.16956338168467300%
District of Columbia 0.08531354824083700%
Florida 1.65010975432690000%
Georgia 0.79531816470797200%
Guam 0.05263184468083650%
Hawaii 0.24538846523323400%
Idaho 0.14657787754978300%
Illinois 1.64040323767528000%
Indiana 0.87972416423889800%
Iowa 0.46535022190036900%
Kansas 0.40036549196707900%
Kentucky 0.45780595111052400%
Louisiana 0.84950225360465700%
Maine 0.26254694847105300%
Maryland 0.63946084248035600%
Massachusetts 1.22259929840854000%
Michigan 1.21688372104464000%
Minnesota 0.61974582045967800%
Mississippi 0.48769574322855100%
Missouri 0.70516872255815100%
Montana 0.16165040119813900%
Nebraska 0.26336705431455200%
Nevada 0.14466342873599700%
New Hampshire 0.16645300019308600%
New Jersey 1.31838653652643000%
New Mexico 0.23395138247190300%
New York 2.76553651908726000%
No. Mariana Islands 0.00329014604847478%
North Carolina 0.80159665169915200%
North Dakota 0.13090382462201500%
Ohio 1.34202999992372000%
Oklahoma 0.44109500817469100%
Oregon 0.35401620870755400%
Pennsylvania 1.66287802161090000%
Puerto Rico 0.34023415151078600%
Rhode Island 0.14160268359603600%
South Carolina 0.42578568669101500%
South Dakota 0.12770074547322300%
Tennessee 0.57787034891897200%
Texas 2.63486674686911000%
Utah 0.21069728945457100%
Vermont 0.08547809926032230%
Virgin Islands 0.16520939843142600%
Virginia 0.91659346391607800%
Washington 0.54540262288818800%
West Virginia 0.21344547509163300%
Wisconsin 0.62838735451951800%
Wyoming 0.14563871266099600%
Total 35.71428571428570000%

Non-Litigant Refiners Account Funds

Refiner-Litigants 100%
     Each Refiner-Litigant Entity is entitled to 3.03% of 
the Non-Litigant Refiners Account Funds.

List of Refiner-Litigants

Amoco Oil Company
Ashland Oil, Inc.
Atlantic Richfield Company
Axel Johnson, Inc.
BHP Petroleum Americas Refining, Inc.
Castle Oil Corporation
Charter International Oil Company
Charter Oil Company
Chevron U.S.A., Inc.
Clark Oil & Refining Corporation
The Coastal Corporation
Commonwealth Oil Refining Company
Conoco, Inc.
Crown Central Petroleum Corp.
Diamond Shamrock Refining & Marketing Company
Exxon Corporation
Fina Oil and Chemical Company
Gulf States Oil & Refining Co.
Kerr-McGee Refining Corporation
La Gloria Oil and Gas Company
Marathon Oil Company
Mobil Oil Corporation
New England Petroleum Corporation
Oxy USA, Inc.
Shell Oil Company
Sprague Energy Corporation
Tesoro Petroleum Corporation
Texaco, Inc.
Texaco Refining & Marketing, Inc.
Tosco Corporation
Total Petroleum, Inc.
Union Pacific Resources Company
Wyatt Energy, Inc.


[[Page 45919]]


    Signed in Washington, DC on: August 27, 2018.
Poli A. Marmolejos,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
[FR Doc. 2018-19687 Filed 9-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P