Case No. RR272-00298
August 7, 1997
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Motion for Reconsideration
Name of Petitioner:Tri-County FS, Inc.
Date of Filing: June 23, 1997
Case Number: RR272-00298
On May 30, 1997, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issued a Decision and Order granting a refund filed by Tri-County FS, Inc., (Tri-County) Case No. RG272-168, in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. Tri-County has submitted a Motion for Reconsideration, requesting that we modify our Decision and Order and grant it an additional refund.
Tri-County is an agricultural cooperative that bought petroleum products for resale to its 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). In its Application for Refund, Tri-County estimated that from 10 to 15 percent of the petroleum products it purchased were resold to non-members. Based on this estimation, we granted a refund to Tri-County based on 85 percent of its total purchases, a conservative estimate of the cooperatives purchases resold to its members.
In its Motion for Reconsideration, Tri-County states that its 1974 and 1976 audit shows combined non- member sales of 15.3% and 10.4% respectively. We sincerely believe that a fair non-member percentage calculation would be the average of those two years - or 12.85%. Letter from Dave Lewis, General Manager, Tri-County, to Steve Goering, OHA (June 3, 1997). Copies of these audits have been submitted by Tri-County.
Having reviewed the documentation submitted by Tri-County, we agree that the cooperative has provided a reasonable estimation of its non-member sales. Therefore, Tri-County should receive a refund based on the estimated 87.15 percent of its total purchases it sold to its members, or 44,743,892 gallons, multiplied by the volumetric of $0.0016 per gallon. The total refund amount, thus calculated, is $71,590. We have already granted a refund of $69,824 to Tri-County. Therefore, an additional refund will be granted to Tri- County in the amount of $1,766 ($71,950 - $69,824 = $1,766). In addition, we will change the approved volume for Tri-County from 43,640,055 gallons to 44,743,892 gallons in the OHA database.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Motion for Reconsideration filed by Tri-County FS, Inc., (Case No. RR272-298) is 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 $1,766 (Case No. RR272-298) from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of Treasury, to:
Tri-County FS, Inc.
c/o Dave Lewis
P.O. Box 367
Jerseyville, IL 62052
(3) Tri-County FS, Inc., shall pass through any refund it receives to its members on a dollar for dollar basis.
(4) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, Tri-County FS, Inc., shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of 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
(5) The Office of Hearings and Appeals shall modify the approved volume claim for Tri-County FS, Inc., (Case No. RG272-168) in the OHA database from 43,640,055 gallons to 44,743,892 gallons.
(6) The determination made in this Decision and Order is based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by the applicant. This determination may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying the present Motion for Reconsideration is incorrect.
(7) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: August 7, 1997