Article:
James C. McMillin, Principled Fairness in the Regulation of Petroleum Prices, 57 Texas L. Rev. 573 (1979).
 

Abstract:
Price control has been a central feature of the domestic petroleum industry throughout this decade, attaining a permanence unanticipated when initiated as part of a general freeze on prices in 1971. Despite their pervasive impact on the petroleum industry, however, the current regulations fail to provide adequate guidance for the determination of a lawful selling price. The author believes this is largely due to the ad hoc development of the initial controls as a temporary response to a crisis situation and to the erratic history of their administration by four successive agencies operating under diverse economic conditions and charged with differing responsibilities. These factors, coupled with the complexity of the current regulating scheme, prompted the author to propose a framework for resolving the resulting difficulties in the administration and enforcement of the petroleum price controls. He argues that the DOE should limit its enforcement program to clear-cut violations of regulations that were promulgated in accordance with governing rulemaking procedures.