Case No. RF272-94681
September 23, 1999
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: Henry Farmers Cooperative, et al.
Date of Filings: November 23, 1993, et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-94681, et al.
This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants, in whole or in part, five Applications for Refund, releasing a total of $53,391 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The names of the five Applicants are set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order. Each Applicant purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 and each has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). Each Applicant relies on the presumption of injury for end-users as the basis for its refund claim. Under this presumption, OHA will presume applicants were injured if they were end-users of petroleum products and were not covered by the DOE or its predecessors price controls. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).
We have reviewed the information submitted by all five applicants and determined that each was an end-user of eligible petroleum products. Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records or by using reasonable estimation techniques. All of the applicants listed in the Appendix are agricultural cooperatives. Each application is based on petroleum products that the cooperative purchased for resale to the farmers who were its members. We regard a refund application filed by a cooperative that resold petroleum products to its members as a claim filed on behalf of the members themselves. Farmers Union Oil Co., 17 DOE ¶ 85,464 (1988). A cooperative can thus claim the presumption of end-user injury to the extent that its members were end-users. Each cooperative has certified that it will pass through any refund received to its members. Consequently, on this basis we will grant a refund to these cooperatives based on products resold to members.
After considering each Application carefully, we have concluded that refunds are warranted for the purchase volumes and in the amounts set forth in the Appendix attached to the Decision.(1) We have reduced each applicants approved gallonage claim by the percentage of petroleum sales to non- members during the refund period. (2) The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 33,369,457 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $53,391.
The final deadline for the crude oil proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay eligible crude oil refund claimants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide after the resolution of a few outstanding enforcement proceedings whether sufficient funds are available for additional refunds.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Applications for Refund filed by the claimants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order for all available crude oil overcharge funds are hereby approved as set forth in Paragraph (2) below.
(2) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller, of the Department of Energy shall take appropriate action to disburse the refund amounts set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to the applicants listed in the Appendix. Checks totaling $53,391 shall be sent to the applicants listed in the Appendix.
(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicants shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change in its address, or if an address correction is necessary.
Such notification shall be sent to:
Director of Management Information
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585-0107
(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary material submitted by the applicants. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying the refund application is incorrect.
(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date:September 23, 1999
(1)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to any application involved in this determination.
(2)Following are the names of the cooperatives and in parentheses the percentages sold to non- members: Henry Farmers Cooperative, Case No. RF272-94681 (2%); Washington Farmers Cooperative Association, Case No. RF272-94682 (2%); Richland Cooperative Service , Case No. RF272-94683 (1%); Alpena Cooperative Service, Case No. RF272-94685 (2%); Lincoln Farmers Cooperative, Case No. RF272-94686 (4%).
Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF272-94681 HENRY FARMERS COOPERATIVE C/O TOMMY TOWNSEND 1211 W. WOOD PARIS, TN 38242 9,627,956 $15,405 RF272-94682 WASHINGTON FARMERS COOPERATIVE C/O JAMES WRIGHT PO BOX 275 JONESBOROUGH, TN 37659 4,350,177 $6,960 RF272-94683 RICHLAND CO-OP SERVICE C/O FRANCIS VOIGT PO BOX 456 NEW RICHLAND, MN 56072 5,557,489 $8,892 RF272-94685 ALPENA CO-OP SERVICE C/O BOB PETERSON PO BOX 128 ALPENA, SD 57312 10,626,372 $17,002 RF272-94686 LINCOLN FARMERS COOPERATIVE C/O RONNIE OSTEEN 1205 WINCHESTER HWY. FAYETTEVILLE, TN 37334 3,207,463 $5,132 TOTALS: 5 33,369,457 $53,391
Last Updated on 9/16/1999
By OHA