Case No. RF272-94376
July 9, 1998
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: V & B Drilling Co., et al.
Date of Filings: February 24, 1993, et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-94376, et al.
This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants, in whole or in part, five Applications for Refund, releasing a total of $28,104 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. Four of the applicants listed in the Appendix are agricultural cooperatives whose 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. The cooperatives have certified that they will pass through any refund received to their members.(1) Consequently, on this basis we will grant a refund to the cooperatives based on products resold to members. Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix derived its purchase volume claim by
consulting actual records or by using reasonable estimation techniques. 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.(2) The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 17,564,389 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $28,104.
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 or their representatives listed in the Appendix. A refund check in the amount of $26,425 shall be sent to the representative of four applicants:
Energy Refunds, Inc.
31 Small Lane
Hardin, KY 42048
A check in the amount of $1,679 shall be sent to the other applicant 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:July 9, 1998
(1)Following are the cooperatives and their respective percentage of sales to non-members: S. B. M. Petroleum Service, Case No. RF272-94651 (0%), Hawkins Farmers Cooperative, Case No. RF272-94652 (10%), Overton/Pickett Farmers Cooperative, Case No. RF272-94653 (1%), and Rutland Farmers Cooperative, Case No. RF272-94665 (0%).
(2)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.
APPENDIX
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET ADDRESS CITY/STATE VOLUME REFUND RF272-94376 V & B DRILLING CO. C/O ROLAND VAUGHT P.O. BOX 703 GARDENDALE, TX 79758 1,049,096 $1,679 RF272-94651 S.B.M. PETROLEUM SERVICE C/O HAYDEN BARKER OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC. 31 SMALL LANE HARDIN, KY 42048 10,078,202 $16,125 RF272-94652 HAWKINS FARMERS COOPERATIVE C/O TOM HENARD OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC. 31 SMALL LANE HARDIN, KY 42048 3,964,236 $6,343 RF272-94653 OVERTON/PICKETT FARMERS COOP. C/O CHARLES KENNEDY OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC. 31 SMALL LANE HARDIN, KY 42048 916,175 $1,466 RF272-94665 RUTLAND FARMERS COOP C/O GERALD SQUASHINGROFF OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC. 31 SMALL LANE HARDIN, KY 42048 1,556,680 $2,491 TOTALS: 5 17,564,389 $28,104
Last Updated on 7/9/98
By OHA