[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 178 (Thursday, September 12, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48149-48150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23357]
[[Page 48149]]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of
December 11 Through December 15, 1995
During the week of December 11 through December 15, 1995, 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, SW,
Washington, DC 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 29, 1996.
Richard W. Dugan,
Acting Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Appeals
Butler, Vines and Babb, P.L.L.C., 12/13/95, VFA-0098
Butler, Vines and Babb, P.L.C. filed an Appeal from a determination
issued to it on November 2, 1995 by the Freedom of Information Act
Officer (FOIA Officer) of the Oak Ridge Operations Office of the
Department of Energy (DOE). In that determination, the FOIA Officer
stated that no responsive documents could be found pursuant to a
Freedom of Information Act request. Specifically, the FOIA Officer
stated that there were no documents relating to Armstrong Contracting
and Supply's sale of asbestos-containing material for use at the Oak
Ridge Reservation or pertaining to contracts governing performance by
Armstrong Contracting and Supply at Oak Ridge from 1958 through 1975.
In considering the Appeal, the DOE discovered that there is a
reasonable possibility that responsive documents may exist at a
repository in Atlanta and remanded the case for a search of that
repository.
Linda P. Yeatts, 12/13/95, VFA-0101
Linda P. Yeatts filed an Appeal of a determination issued by the
DOE's Oak Ridge Operations Office under the Freedom of Information Act.
The appellant contended that the Operations Office had not conducted an
adequate search. After considering the matter, the DOE determined that
the Operations Office had conducted a reasonable search for responsive
documents. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied.
U.S. Ecology, 12/13/95, VFA-0099
U.S. Ecology, Inc. filed an Appeal from a partial denial by the
Richland Operations Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE/RL) of
a Request for Information which the organization had submitted under
the Freedom of Information Act (the FOIA). In considering the Appeal,
the DOE found that one of the documents requested by U.S. Ecology
related to an on-going procurement at DOE/RL and was properly labeled
source selection information by DOE/RL. Because release of source
selection information is prohibited by the Procurement Integrity Act,
the document was properly withheld from disclosure to the requester
under Exemption 3 of the FOIA. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied.
Personnel Security Hearings
Oak Ridge Operations Office, 12/13/95, VSA-0029
An individual whose access authorization was suspended filed a
request for review of a DOE Hearing Officer's recommendation against
restoring the authorization. The individual's access authorization had
been suspended by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge Operations
Office (Oak Ridge) upon its receipt of derogatory information
indicating that the individual had been or was a user of alcohol
habitually to excess, or that he had been diagnosed by a board-
certified psychiatrist, or other licensed physician or a licensed
clinical psychologist as alcohol dependent or as suffering from alcohol
abuse. In his request for review, the individual claimed that he had
been successfully rehabilitated from alcohol dependence. The Director
of the Office of Hearings and Appeals found that: (i) The individual
had not established that he had been sufficiently rehabilitated from
alcohol dependence; and (ii) the nexus established between the behavior
of the individual and the risk to the national security easily met the
standard set forth by the federal courts. Accordingly, the Director
found that the individual's access authorization should not be
restored.
Rocky Flats Field Office, 12/13/95, VSA-0032
An individual whose request for access authorization was denied
filed a request for review of a DOE Hearing Officer's recommendation
against granting the authorization. The individual's request for access
authorization had been denied by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Rocky
Flats Field Office upon its receipt of derogatory information
indicating that the individual had an illness or mental condition of a
nature which causes or may cause a significant defect in judgment or
reliability.
Upon review, the individual claimed that she did not have any
illness or mental condition of the aforementioned type, and vigorously
evaded any serious discussion of the derogatory information at the
hearing. The Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals found that
the individual had not established that she did not suffer from an
illness or mental condition causing a significant defect in judgment or
reliability, and that her request for access authorization should not
be granted.
Request for Exception
F.L. Baker Dist., Inc., 12/13/95, VEE-0010
F.L. Baker Dist., Inc. (Baker) filed an Application for Exception
from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) requirement that it
file form EIA-782B, the ``Resellers'/Retailers' Monthly Petroleum
Product Sales Report.'' In considering this request, the DOE found that
the firm was not suffering gross inequity or serious hardship.
Therefore, the DOE denied Baker's Application for Exception.
Refund Applications
Perry Gas Processors, Inc./State of Washington, 12/13/95, RQ183-597
The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting a second-stage refund
application filed by the State of Washington. Washington requested that
all remaining funds allocated to its Federally-Recognized Indian Tribes
in the Perry Gas Processors special refund proceeding be used to fund
the installation of a computer network. As of November 30, 1995, the
allocation totaled $2,755 ($675 in principal and $2,080 in interest),
but the allocation will be slightly higher at the time of disbursement.
The network, to be used by the Western Washington Indian Employment and
Training Program, will allow the Indian Tribes to track energy usage in
tribal facilities. The DOE found that the computer network would
produce timely restitutionary benefits to injured consumers of refined
petroleum products. Accordingly, Washington's second-stage refund
application was granted.
[[Page 48150]]
Marine Corps Exchange 0231 Marine Corps Exchange Service, 12/13/95,
RF272-67557, RF272-70220
The DOE issued a Decision and Order denying refunds to Marine Corps
Exchange 0231 and Marine Corps Exchange Service, (collectively ``the
Exchange'') in the crude oil overcharge refund proceeding conducted
under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. The Exchange applied for a refund
for petroleum products it sold through retail gasoline stations on
Marine Corps bases. In denying a refund, the DOE found that the
Exchange was retailer of these products and was required to submit a
detailed demonstration of injury from crude oil overcharges. Instead of
submitting such a demonstration, the Exchange argued that (1) It
suffered reduced profits because of the overcharges; (2) its prices
were set lower than other gasoline retail outlets; and (3) the Exchange
is similar to a cooperative because the refund would be shared with
local Marine Corps recreation and morale support funds. The DOE
rejected all three arguments based on its findings in earlier cases.
Since the Exchange failed to submit a demonstration of injury, the DOE
denied its Application for Refund.
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.
Crude Oil Supple Ref Dist................................ RB272-00060 12/13/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution............... RB272-00054 12/13/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution............... RB272-00035 12/13/95
E & R Trucking Co., Inc. et al........................... RF272-77434 12/13/95
Electric Energy, Inc..................................... RF272-65878 12/13/95
Enron Corp./Geiger Bottled Gas Company................... RF340-0170 12/13/95
Southern States Utilities, Inc........................... RF340-0202 ..............
Flasher Farmers Union Oil Co............................. RR272-0199 12/13/95
George R. Brown Lease Service............................ RF272-78648 12/13/95
Phoenix Industries, Inc. et al........................... RF272-92015 12/11/95
Ranger Fuel Corporation.................................. RF272-77226 12/13/95
Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation............................ RF272-77227 ..............
Virginia Chemicals, Inc.................................. RF272-77387 12/13/95
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed:
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Name Case No.
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Birchwood Air Service........................ RF272-98027
On Site Fuel Oil Co., Inc.................... RF300-16898
State of Wyoming............................. RF272-95217
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[FR Doc. 96-23357 Filed 9-11-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P