Need for departmental action to distribute funds in escrow accounts resulting from petroleum-pricing violations
Where review showed that DOE should formulate a uniform policy for the disbursement of $350 million held in escrow accounts resulting from settlements for violations of petroleum pricing regulations, recommendations were made that the Department seek special legislation to provide for the deposit of these escrow funds directly into the Miscellaneous Receipts Account of the US Treasury. In the interim, the Department should consider formulating uniform procedures for: (1) disbursing funds in escrow accounts, including time frames for acting on the procedure adopted, and (2) using special refund procedures (10 C.F.R., Part 205, Subpart V), when appropriate, in an expeditious manner. The absence of such a policy, coupled with the inherent difficulty of disbursement decisions, seems to explain both the delay of action and the controversy over the few disbursements that have been made. While action recently increased, a definitive policy is needed to expedite and provide authoritative direction to the disbursement process. The Controller agreed with the recommendations. The Economic Regulatory Administration and Office of Hearings and Appeals disagreed. Their comments on the draft of the report are appended. (PSB)
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Office of Inspector General, Washington, DC
- OSTI ID:
- 6278886
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/IG-0168; ON: DE83010052
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Report to The Secretary
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ESCROW ACCOUNTS
DISBURSEMENTS
PETROLEUM
PRICING REGULATIONS
COMPLIANCE AUDITS
ENFORCEMENT
ACCOUNTING
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
CHARGES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
RECOMMENDATIONS
VIOLATIONS
AUDITS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
REGULATIONS
021000* - Petroleum- Legislation & Regulations
290000 - Energy Planning & Policy