[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 222 (Friday, November 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28570]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 18, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
 

Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of 
August 15 through August 19, 1994

    During the week of August 15 through August 19, 1994, the decisions 
and orders summarized below were issued with respect to applications 
for refund or other relief filed with the Office of Hearings and 
Appeals of the Department of Energy. The following summary also 
contains a list of submissions that were dismissed by the Office of 
Hearings and Appeals.

Appeals

Kenneth H. Besecker, 8/19/94, LFA-0404

    Kenneth H. Besecker filed an Appeal from a determination issued by 
the DOE's Office of Civil Rights in response to his request under the 
Freedom of Information Act. In denying the Appeal, the DOE found that 
there was no basis for believing that responsive documents had been 
withheld. The DOE also found that the Office of Civil Rights had 
adequately searched for documents.

Wayne M. Cooper, 8/16/94, LFA-0403

    Wayne M. Cooper filed an Appeal from a determination issued by the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources of the Department of 
Energy (DOE/HR), in response for information under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). Cooper sought records relating to the 1993 
Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (SESCDP). In 
considering the Appeal, the DOE found that: (1) DOE/HR properly 
withheld a list of 50 recommended selectees to the 1993 SESCDP under 
the deliberative process element of FOIA Exemption 5 because the list 
represented only a recommendation to the Secretary of Energy, and thus 
was reflective of the deliberative process of the agency prior to 
arriving at a final decision; (2) DOE/HR properly withheld under 
Exemption 6 the disability status and ethnic background because the 
significant privacy interests of the selectees in the withheld 
information outweighed the negligible contribution of disclosure of 
this information to the public understanding of government operations 
and activities; and (3) DOE/HR should consult with Cooper to find out 
whether he wishes to obtain certain responsive documents that were not 
provided to him. The matter was therefore remanded to DOE/HR for the 
purpose of providing the appellant with additional responsive 
documents. In all other respects, the Appeal was denied.

Requests for Exception

Consolidated Oil & Gas, Inc., 8/19/94, LEE-0109

    Consolidated Oil & Gas, Inc. (Consolidated) filed an Application 
for Exception from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) 
requirement that it file form EIA-23, the ``Annual Survey of Domestic 
Oil & Gas Reserves''. On May 24, 1994, the DOE issued a Proposed 
Decision and Order tentatively determining that the firm was not 
suffering gross inequity or serious hardship and that the exception 
request should therefore be denied. Consolidated objected to the 
Proposed Decision and Order, stating that filing was unduly burdensome 
and that the DOE was arbitrary in its selection of Consolidated to file 
the form. The DOE issued a Final Decision and Order determining that 
the objections raised by Consolidated did not warrant exception relief. 
Therefore, Consolidated's Application for Exception was denied.

Hunt Oil Co., 8/15/94, LEE-0086

    Hunt Oil Co. filed an Application for Exception for the provisions 
of the EIA reporting requirement, in which the firm sought relief from 
filing Form EIA-782B. In considering the request, the DOE found that 
exception relief was necessary to alleviate an undue hardship on the 
firm caused by new regulations enacted by the State of Idaho. 
Accordingly, a limited form of exception relief was granted until 
August 1, 1994, after which the new state regulations would become 
final and the Applicant could comply with all applicable rules.

Phillipsburg Cooperative Assn., 8/15/94, LEE-0099

    The Phillipsburg Cooperative Association (Phillipsburg) filed an 
Application for Exception from the provisions of the Energy Information 
Administration (EIA) reporting requirements in which the firm sought 
relief from filing Form EIA-782B, entitled ``Resellers'/Retailers' 
Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report.'' In considering the request, 
the DOE found that Phillipsburg was suffering a gross inequity due to 
its precarious financial condition. Accordingly, the DOE determined 
that exception relief should be granted which relieves Phillipsburg of 
those reporting requirements. However, due to the impermanence of 
Phillipsburg's financial situation, the exception relief granted will 
be effective for a period of two years. At that time, if Phillipsburg 
wishes to receive continued exemption from filing requirements, it must 
reapply with the DOE. Accordingly, the Application was granted until 
September 30, 1996.

Refund Applications

Texaco Inc./Eastland Texaco, 8/19/94, RF321-21021

    The DOE issued a Supplemental Order regarding an Application for 
Refund in the Texaco Inc. special refund proceeding which had been 
previously granted on March 1, 1993. In that Decision, the DOE granted 
a refund to John Clark (Clark) for 825,311 gallons of Texaco products 
he claimed to have purchased as the owner of Eastland Texaco. The DOE 
subsequently received a refund application from Clark's three siblings, 
who claimed that it was their father, John Clark, Sr., who had actually 
operated Eastland Texaco during the refund period. The three siblings 
also argued that the residuary clause of their father's will entitled 
them to a portion of any refund granted based upon their father's 
purchases of Texaco products. In response, Clark argued that because 
his three siblings had improperly enjoyed the use of his deceased 
father's home, and because he had incurred all of the expenses in 
filing the application, he was entitled to the entire refund. The DOE 
determined that because Clark failed to demonstrate that he had a clear 
right to the refund, the father's will was determinative on the issue 
of who was entitled to the refund. Because the residuary clause of the 
will provided that Clark and each of his siblings would equally share 
the residue of the father's estate, the DOE determined that Clark had 
improperly received his siblings' portions of the refund. Consequently, 
the DOE directed Clark to repay $988, representing $944 in principal 
and $44 in interest.

Texaco Inc./Palm Desert Texaco, 8/19/94, RF321-21023

    A refund based upon the Texaco product purchases of the previous 
owners of Palm Desert Texaco was erroneously sent to the current owner 
of the outlet. At the request of the Office of Hearings and Appeals 
(OHA), the refund was returned and the DOE issued a new refund check to 
the former owners. Subsequently, the U.S. Treasury reclaimed the amount 
of the refund directly from the service station's checking account, 
where the present owner had deposited the first refund. Under the 
circumstances, the OHA determined that the most expeditious way to 
reimburse the service station's owner for the duplicate repayment was 
to issue a Decision and Order directing the payment of a refund check 
to him.

Refund Applications

    The Office of Hearings and Appeals issued the following Decisions 
and Orders concerning refund applications, which are not summarized. 
Copies of the full texts of the Decisions and Orders are available in 
the Public Reference Room of the Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Atlantic Richfield Company/Ciarolla's     RF304-14648           08/19/94
 Arco et al.                                                            
Atlantic Richfield Company/Richfield      RF304-14386           08/16/94
 Service et al.                                                         
Atlas Roofing Corporation...............  RF272-94055           08/16/94
B&B Vending Co. et al...................  RF272-93600           08/15/94
Berks Mutual Leasing Corp. et al........  RF272-94100           08/19/94
City of Plymouth, Michigan et al........  RF272-85283           08/19/94
Consolidation Coal Company et al........  RF272-94413           08/16/94
Gulf Oil Corporation/Matkin Oil Co......  RF300-8794            08/16/94
Gulf Oil Corporation/McGraw-Edison Power  RR300-201             08/19/94
 Systems.                                                               
Frankenmuth Oil Co......................  RR300-204                     
Gulf Oil Corporation/P & D Service #1...  RF300-17716           08/19/94
P & D Service #2........................  RF300-20246                   
P & D Service #2........................  RF300-20247                   
P & D Service #1........................  RF300-20493                   
Gulf Oil Corporation/R. Keith Martin,     RF300-21794           08/16/94
 Distributor.                                                           
Gulf Oil Corporation/Tri-State Canada     RF300-13207           08/16/94
 Dry et al.                                                             
J.H. Rose Truck Line, Inc...............  RF272-77309           08/19/94
Sweetwater Union High School Dist. et al  RF272-86503           08/19/94
Texaco Inc./Allison Lane Texaco et al...  RF321-6105            08/19/94
Texaco Inc./Chuck's Texaco Service......  RF321-21020           08/16/94
Texaco Inc./Grover's Texaco.............  RF321-21022           08/19/94
Tomahawk Services, Inc..................  RF272-66027           08/19/94
Rappleye Trucking, Inc..................  RF272-68557                   
Tomahawk Services, Inc..................  RD272-66027                   
                                                                        

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Name                               Case No.    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alumax Mill Products, Inc............................  RF272-92470      
American Home & Hardware.............................  RF300-19633      
Farm Service, Inc....................................  RF321-20502      
Four Buttes Farmers Elevator Co......................  RF272-94866      
Hawk Oil Company.....................................  LEE-0139         
Heck's Texaco Service................................  RF321-11333      
J.S. Hough Fuel Service, Inc.........................  RF300-20416      
Kraft General Foods, Inc.............................  RF321-20504      
Lebeouf Bros. Towing Co, Inc.........................  RF321-20114      
New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc.................  RF321-20509      
Ortonville Ind. School Dist. #62.....................  RF321-20116      
Q/T/S/ Oil Company...................................  RF304-13715      
Rice Texaco..........................................  RF321-1248       
Summers-Taylor, Inc..................................  RF321-20507      
The Outpost Station and Country Store................  LEE-0120         
Ullman Oil Company...................................  LEE-0102         
Wheels, Inc..........................................  RF321-20499      
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Copies of the full text of these decisions and orders are available 
in the Public Reference Room of the Office of Hearings and Appeals, 
Room 1E-234, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 1 
p.m. and 5 p.m., except federal holidays. They are also available in 
Energy Management: Federal Energy Guidelines, a commercially published 
loose leaf reporter system.

    Dated: November 14, 1994.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
[FR Doc. 94-28570 Filed 11-17-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P