[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47922-47923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23181]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders by the Office of 
Hearings and Appeals; Week of July 1 through July 5, 1996

    During the week of July 1 through July 5, 1996, the decisions and 
orders summarized below were issued with respect to appeals, 
applications, petitions, or other requests 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.
    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, S.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20585-0107, 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. Some decisions and 
orders are available on the Office of Hearings and Appeals World Wide 
Web site at http://www.oha.doe.gov.

    Dated: August 28, 1996.
Thomas O. Mann,
Acting Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Decision List No. 979

Week of July 1 through July 5, 1996

Appeals

Marlene Flor, 7/2/96, VFA-0175

    The Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Decision and Order granting 
a Freedom of Information Act Appeal that was filed by Marlene Flor. In 
her Appeal, Ms. Flor contested the accuracy of a cost estimate provided 
to her by the DOE's Albuquerque Operations Office for processing her 
request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. In the 
Decision, the OHA found that Ms. Flor fell into the ``all other 
requesters'' category of FOIA requesters, and that she could not be 
charged for time spent by DOE employees in reviewing responsive 
documents for exempt material. The DOE therefore remanded her request 
to the Albuquerque Office for the formulation of a new estimate.
Tenaska Washington Partners II, L.P., 7/2/96, VFA-0176

    Tenaska Washington Partners II, L.P. (TWP) filed an Appeal from a 
determination issued to it on May 21, 1996 by the Deputy Inspector 
General for Audit Services of the Office of Inspector General (IG) of 
the Department of Energy (DOE). In that determination, the IG partially 
denied a request for information that TWP filed pursuant to the Freedom 
of Information Act (FOIA). In its Appeal, TWP contends that the IG 
improperly withheld factual information pusuant to FOIA Exemption 5 and 
that the IG ``waived'' its ability to withhold a document pursuant to 
FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7. In considering the Appeal, the DOE confirmed 
that the redacted information does not contain any factual information 
and that the IG properly withheld the requested information pursuant to 
Exemption 5. The DOE also found that there is no merit to TWP's 
argument that the IG ``waived'' its ability to withhold a document 
pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7. Accordingly, the DOE denied the 
appellant's request.

Refund Applications

Moore Brothers, 7/2/96, RR272-232

    Moore Brothers was a trucking company that filed an Application for 
Refund in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. In its original 
application (Case No. RF272-4527), Moore Brothers was denied a refund 
due to a lack of adequate documentation (January 26, 1990). On February 
20, 1996, Moore Brothers filed a Motion for Reconsideration, requesting 
that the DOE reconsider its 1990 Decision. In the Motion for 
Reconsideration, Moore Brothers provided documentation adequate to 
substantiate the applicant's estimate of petroleum products consumed 
during the price control period. Accordingly, the Motion for 
Reconsideration was granted.
Perry Gas Processors, Inc./Alabama, RQ183-604, Charter Company/Alabama, 
RQ23-605, National Helium Corp./Alabama, RQ3-606, Coline Gasoline 
Corp./Alabama, 7/2/96, RQ2-607

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting a second-stage refund 
application filed by the State of Alabama. Alabama requested that all 
remaining funds allocated to it in the Perry Gas Processors, Charter 
Company, National Helium Corp. And Coline Gasoline special refund 
proceedings be used to fund the state's Energy Conservation Loan 
Program. As of May 31,1996, the amount of those funds totaled $370,540 
($102,445 in principal and $268,095 in interest). The DOE found that 
Alabama's proposal would provide timely restitutionary benefits to 
injured consumers of refined petroleum products. Accordingly, Alabama's 
second-stage refund application was granted.

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.

Allied-Signal, Inc.......................................  RF272-77990                                  07/01/96
Bronaugh Motor Express, Inc. et al.......................  RF272-89203                                  07/05/96
Crude Oil Supple. Ref....................................  RB272-00082                                  07/01/96

[[Page 47923]]

                                                                                                                
First Piedmont Corp. et al...............................  RF272-89011                                  07/03/96
Gulf Oil Corporation/Dearman's Grovery & Service           RF300-13743                                  07/02/96
 Stationet al.                                                                                                  
Gulf Oil Corporation/Union Petroleum.....................  RF300-17257                                  07/03/96
Kimbob, Inc. et al.......................................  RG272-00607                                  07/02/96
Montgomery Farmers Coop et al............................  RF272-94512                                  07/01/96
Virgin Air, Inc. et al...................................  RF272-97969                                  07/03/96
                                                                                                                

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

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                     Name                               Case No.        
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Allied Oil Company...........................  RF339-14                 
Darigold, Inc................................  RG272-368                
Denholm Ship Management Ltd..................  RG272-618                
Heber Elementary.............................  RF272-87065              
Valley Materials Transport...................  RF272-98118              
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[FR Doc. 96-23181 Filed 9-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P