[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Case No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill's Texaco..................................... RF321-19630
Les Texaco........................................ RF321-19705
Marathon Letourneau Company....................... RF272-95057
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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