[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10847-10848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4879]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of January 2 
Through January 6, 1995

    During the week of January 2 through January 6, 1995 the decisions 
and orders summarized below were issued with respect to appeals and 
applications for 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.

Appeal

Howard W. Spaletta, 01/04/95, LWA-0010

    Howard W. Spaletta filed a whistleblower complaint against EG&G 
Idaho, Inc. in which he alleged that the contractor retaliated against 
him for making health and safety disclosures. After investigating the 
complaint, the Office of Contractor Employee Protection found that 
Spaletta had made protected disclosures and that thereafter the 
contractor had retaliated against him by referring fewer work 
assignments to him and by reducing his annual merit pay increases. At 
the same time OCEP also found that Spaletta had not shown that the 
contractor had retaliated against him by failing to assign him 
important and meaningful work, by requiring him to solicit work, or by 
requiring him to take unpaid leave during a Christmas holiday 
curtailment of work. Spaletta requested a hearing to challenge OCEP's 
finding and conclusions.
    Subsequent to the hearing, an OHA Hearing Officer issued an Initial 
Agency Decision, setting forth his findings. As explained below, in the 
Initial Agency Decision, the OHA Hearing Officer found that some of 
Spaletta's claims were meritorious.
    The OHA Hearing Officer found that Spaletta's disclosures were 
protected by the DOE's contractor employee protection program. In that 
regard, the Hearing Officer found that Spaletta made his disclosures 
with a good faith belief that a final report concerning the evaluation 
of welds at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar nuclear power 
plant did not disclose that the evaluation used a weld inspection code 
that was not mentioned in the plant's Final Safety Analysis Report 
(FSAR) and, as a consequence, evaluated employee weld safety concerns 
against a standard different from the standard contained in the FSAR. 
The Hearing Officer also found that Spaletta believed that these 
conditions impacted on safety at the Watts Bar plant.
    The Hearing Officer also found that the contractor retaliated 
against Spaletta by referring fewer work assignments to him and by 
reducing his annual merit pay increases for a three-year period. The 
Hearing Officer rejected Spaletta's claims (i) that the contractor 
retaliated against him by requiring him to take leave during a 
Christmas holiday curtailment of work and (ii) that Spaletta was 
constructively terminated. The Hearing Officer also rejected Spaletta's 
request that the Hearing Officer order the contractor to withdraw the 
report in question. Finally, the Hearing Officer directed the parties 
to submit additional information concerning the amount of back pay, 
attorney's fees, and costs that should be awarded in the case.

Refund Application

Standard Oil Company (Indiana) et al./ Oklahoma, 01/04/95, RM21-277 et 
al.

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting a Motion for 
Modification (Motion) filed by the State of Oklahoma in the Standard 
Oil Company (Indiana), Belridge Oil Company, Palo Pinto Oil & Gas, OKC 
Corporation, and Vickers Energy Corporation refund proceedings. In its 
Motion, Oklahoma proposed to reallocate $21,080 in interest from funds 
which the State received for other second-stage refund plans to provide 
a transportation service for individuals departing from three self-help 
organizations in downtown Oklahoma City and traveling to jobs outside 
the inner city. The vehicle to be used is a 15-passenger compressed 
natural gas (CNG) van. In accordance with prior Decisions, where we 
have noted the benefits of alternative fuel vehicles and the increased 
use of public transportation, the DOE approved Oklahoma's Motion.

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/Edmonds Arco...................................  RF304-13881                 01/06/95
Florence Car Wash.........................................................  RF304-13908           ..............
Smith Motor Sales.........................................................  RF304-13998           ..............
Enron Corp./Nixon Company.................................................  RF340-74                    01/04/95
Pioneer Energy, Inc.......................................................  RF340-88              ..............
Bonesteel Oil Company.....................................................  RF340-117             ..............
Gulf Oil Corporation/Vic's Gulf Service et al.............................  RF300-21603                 01/06/95
Shellabarger Chevrolet....................................................  RF272-94629                 01/03/95
Texaco Inc./Norm's Texaco et al...........................................  RF321-20582                 01/04/95
Texaco Inc./Rommel's Holiday Inn Texaco et al.............................  RF321-11298                 01/04/95
Texaco Inc./Von's Texaco Service et al....................................  RF321-20610                 01/06/95
Town of Oelwein et al.....................................................  RF272-96608                 01/06/95
                                                                                                                


[[Page 10848]]

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

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                       Name                               Case No.      
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Bill's Texaco.....................................  RF321-19630         
Les Texaco........................................  RF321-19705         
Marathon Letourneau Company.......................  RF272-95057         
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    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 1:00 
p.m. and 5:00 p.m., except federal holidays. They are also available in 
Energy Management: Federal Energy Guidelines, a commercially published 
loose leaf reporter system.

    Dated: February 21, 1995.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
[FR Doc. 95-4879 Filed 2-27-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P