[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7257-7258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4409]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders by the Office of 
Hearings and Appeals; Week of August 14 through August 18, 1995

    During the week of August 14 through August 18, 1995 the decisions 
and orders summarized below were issued with respect to applications 
for 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

Greg Long, 8/15/95, VFA-0060

    Greg Long filed an Appeal from a determination issued to him by the 
Office of Public Affairs of the DOE's Albuquerque Operations Office in 
response to a Request for Information submitted under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). In that determination, the Albuquerque 
Operations Office had withheld under the Exemption 5 ``deliberative 
process privilege'' a draft of a never-finalized or issued report 
investigating a mysterious ``hum'' reported in and around Taos, New 
Mexico. In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that the Albuquerque 
Operations Office had not determined whether the document contained 
deliberative material. In addition, the DOE had not determined whether 
the document contained segregable non-exempt material or whether the 
document qualified for withholding under the standard articulated in 
the October 1993 Memorandum of Attorney General Janet Reno concerning 
the FOIA. Accordingly, the Appeal was granted in part, denied in part, 
and remanded to the Albuquerque Operations Office for a new 
determination in accordance with the guidance set forth in the Decision 
and Order.

Personnel Security Hearing

Rocky Flats Field Office, 8/14/95, VSO-0027

    An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an opinion 
concerning the eligibility of an individual for access authorization 
under 10 CFR Part 710, ``Criteria and Procedures for Determining 
Eligibility for Access to Classified Matter or Special Nuclear 
Material.'' After considering the record in view of the standards set 
forth in Part 710, the Hearing Officer found that the individual 
adequately demonstrated rehabilitation from a history of alcohol abuse. 
Accordingly, the Hearing Officer found that the individual's access 
authorization should be granted.

Refund Applications

Enron Corp./Ozona Butane Company, Inc., Bob's L.P. Gas, Inc., B.F. 
Goodrich Chemical Group, 8/16/95, RF340-58, RF340-110, RF340-144

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order concerning refund applications 
that Ozona Butane Company, Inc. (Ozona), Bob's LP Gas, Inc. (Bob's), 
and B.F. Goodrich Chemical Group (GCG) had submitted in the Enron 
Corporation (Enron) special refund proceeding. The DOE found that Ozona 
and Bob's were retailers of Enron products who qualified for refunds 
under the small claim presumption of injury. However, both firms 
purchased Enron product indirectly through Gartman Butane Company, Inc. 
(Gartman). The DOE collected information from Gartman in order to 
determine the portion of Gartman purchases by Ozona and Bob's that were 
Enron products. The DOE found that GCG used Enron propane as a 
feedstock to produce vinyl, and therefore that GCG was entitled to a 
refund for its purchases from Enron under the presumption of injury for 
end-users of Enron products. The total refund granted to Ozona, Bob's 
and GCG, including interest, is $10,914.

General Electric Company, 8/16/95, RF272-25357, RD272-25357

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting an Application for 
Refund filed by General Electric Company (GE), a large diversified 
industrial corporation, in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. A 
group of States and Territories (States) objected to the application on 
the grounds that the applicant was able to pass through increased 
petroleum costs to its customers. Noting that the applicant did 
business in many markets, the States contended that a claim of 100% 
absorption of overcharges by a conglomerate such as GE is not 
reasonable. The DOE determined that the evidence offered by the States 
was insufficient to rebut the presumption of end-user injury. The DOE 
also denied the States' Motion for Discovery, finding that discovery 
was not warranted where the States had not presented evidence 
sufficient to rebut the applicant's presumption of injury. In addition, 
the DOE found that GE's purchases of ethane, chlorobenzene, acetic 
anhydride, polypropylene, isopropanol, isoproply alcohol, methyl, 
cellosolve, cresylic acid, phenol, acetone, cumene, styrene, EPON 828/
829, tetra-bromo bisphenol, and butadiene were not eligible for a crude 
oil refund. Finally, the DOE considered the validity of a waiver of the 
right to a crude oil refund filed in the Stripper Well Surface 
Transporters (ST) proceeding on behalf of RCA Corporation, which had 
been acquired by GE in a merger completed on June 9, 1986. The DOE 
found that where a dismissed ST application had not been filed by an 
authorized representative, the waiver had not been validly executed, 
and, therefore, the claimant had not waived its right to a Subpart V 
refund. The refund granted to the applicant in this Decision was 
$2,536,874.

Texaco Inc./ J.E. Meintzer & Sons, Inc., 8/15/95, RF321-4048

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order in the Texaco Inc. special 
refund proceeding concerning J.E. Meintzer & 

[[Page 7258]]
Sons, Inc. (J.E. Meintzer & Sons), a direct purchaser of Texaco 
products. The DOE had previously determined that the purchase volumes 
of refund claims filed by affiliated firms should be combined in order 
to determine one allocable share for the applicants. In the instant 
case, a substantial amount of common ownership interest existed 
previously between J.E. Meintzer & Sons and two other companies which 
have been granted refunds in the Texaco proceeding. Nonetheless, the 
DOE determined that because the degree of this common ownership has 
been dramatically decreased, none of the involved companies are 
currently affiliated to a degree that would result in windfall benefits 
to a single corporate entity or shareholder. Thus, the DOE found that 
J.E. Meintzer & Sons' refund should not be reduced by the refunds 
granted the other two firms.

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/Brookvale Arco et al..........  RF304-14096                                  08/16/95
Bloomer Coop Feeds et al.................................  RF272-86665                                  08/16/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution...............  RB272-8                                      08/15/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution...............  RB272-43                                     08/15/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution...............  RB272-42                                     08/15/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution...............  RB272-39                                     08/15/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution...............  RB272-37                                     08/15/95
Deback Cartage Company...................................  RF272-97087                                  08/15/95
Dryer and Geodecke, Inc..................................  RA272-71                                     08/16/95
Elmer Bowerman et al.....................................  RK272-424                                    08/15/95
Federal Reserve Bank of New York et al...................  RF272-90224                                  08/16/95
J.L. Anderson Co., Inc. et al............................  RF272-77264                                  08/16/95
Leboeouf Brothers Towing Company, Inc....................  RF272-69366                                  08/16/95
Leboeouf Brothers Towing Company, Inc....................  RD272-69366                                          
Monroe County Commission et al...........................  RF272-97541                                  08/16/95
Ranson Farmers Coop Union et al..........................  RF272-97161                                  08/16/95
Texaco Inc./Kelly's Food Store et al.....................  RF321-19433                                  08/16/95
Texaco Inc./Ray's Texaco.................................  RF321-20416                                  08/15/95
Cunningham's Texaco......................................  RF321-20691                                          
Texaco Inc./Villa Street Service Station.................  RF321-20724                                  08/16/95
International Harvester..................................  RF321-20755                                          
Webster School District et al............................  RF272-95425                                  08/16/95
                                                                                                                

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

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                     Name                               Case No.        
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City of Villa Park, CA.......................  RF272-86154              
Robert Hawthorne, Inc........................  RF272-86818              
Silsbee Butane Company.......................  RF304-15155              
Thomas Fredrich..............................  RF304-15146              
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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 14, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
[FR Doc. 96-4409 Filed 2-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P