Case No. RF272-95740

December 16, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Upstate Milk Cooperatives, Inc., et al.

Dates of Filings: June 1, 1994, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-95740 et al.

This Decision and Order will consider Applications for Refund filed by eleven claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. Each applicant listed in the Appendix attached to this Decision and Order has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy pursuant to the Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986).

In order to receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant generally must (1) document it’s purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by the overcharges. Applicants that were end- users of petroleum products and whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry, however, are presumed to have been injured. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE¶85,550 (1981). Some of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order are agricultural cooperatives that bought petroleum products for resale to their members, who were end-users. We consider a claim by an agricultural cooperative that resold petroleum products to its members as a claim on behalf of the members. Farmers Union Oil Co., 17 DOE ¶ 85,464 (1988). Therefore, we afford such a cooperative the presumption of end-user injury on the condition that it certify that it will pass through the refund to its members. All of the cooperatives considered in this Decision and Order have provided this certification.

The amount of an applicant’s refund is equal to $0.0016 per gallon multiplied by the volume of its purchases. The purchase volumes and refunds approved for each applicant are set forth in the Appendix. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 121,324,693 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $194,120.

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 Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants 4, Account No.

999DOE010A, to the applicants listed in the Appendix.

(3) The cooperative applicants shall pass through any refunds they receive to their members on a dollar for dollar basis.

(4) 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

(5) 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 a refund application is incorrect.

(6) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: December 16, 1997


Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND
RF272-95740 UPSTATE MILK COOP, INC. C/O MELANIE HAAG 62 DEWEY AVE. ROCHESTER, NY 14608 4,035,665 $6,457
RF272-95758 LAUGHERY VALLEY AG CO-OP, INC. C/O WAYNE JENNER BOX 177 OSGOOD, IN 470370177 24,483,062 $39,173
RG272-00144 MADISON COUNTY CO-OP C/O JOE HAND BOX 587 CANTON, MS 39046 2,396,774 $3,835
RG272-00145 ALCORN COUNTY CO-OP C/O BRAD MITCHELL 211 HWY. 72 W. CORINTH, MS 38834 1,980,102 $3,168
RG272-00147 LINCOLN MUTUAL #2, INC. C/O JIM FUHEMAN BOX 129 REARDAN, WA 99029 7,386,207 $11,818
RG272-00150 NELSON CREAMERY ASSN. C/O JIM KOHNEN P.O. BOX 79 NELSON, MN 56355 1,595,059 $2,552
RG272-00154 UNITED CHURCH HOMES, INC. C/O RONALD E. BEACH P.O. BOX 1806; 170 E. CENTER ST. MARION, OH 433011806 44,500 $71
RG272-00157 MID STATE CO-OP C/O DICK SIDERIUS P.O. BOX 480 ELLENSBURG, WA 98926 17,403,264 $27,845
RG272-00182 ROLLING HILLS LANDMARK, INC. C/O FRED WINTERS P.O. BOX 68 BETHESDA, OH 43719 17,953,453 $28,726
RG272-00183 MEDINA LANDMARK, INC. C/O WILLIAM D. ROHRBAUGH 241 S. STATE RD. MEDINA, OH 44256 34,363,731 $54,982
RG272-00186 METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL H.H.C. C/O ANGELO DEVITO 1901 1ST AVE. NEW YORK, NY 10029 9,682,876 $15,493
Totals: 11       121,324,693 $194,120
             


Last Updated on 12/17/97
By OHA