[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48945-48946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23734]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals


Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of December 18 Through 
December 22, 1995

    During the week of December 18 through December 22, 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, 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: September 4, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Appeal

Keith E. Loomis, 12/21/95, VFA-0102

    The DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issued a 
determination denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal filed 
by Keith E. Loomis (Loomis). Loomis appealed the Office of Naval 
Reactors' (ONR) withholding of information under Exemption 6 and 
contended that the ONR search for responsive documents was not 
adequate. OHA found that Exemption 6 was properly applied and that 
ONR's search for responsive documents was adequate.

Personnel Security Hearing

Albuquerque Operations Office, 12/18/95, VSO-0054

    An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an Opinion 
regarding the eligibility of an individual to maintain access 
authorization under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 710. After 
considering the individual's testimony and the record, the Hearing 
Officer found that the individual, who has had five DWI arrests, has an 
illness or mental condition (substance dependence) that in the opinion 
of a board-certified psychiatrist causes, or may cause a significant 
defect in his judgment or reliability and that he is a user of alcohol 
to excess. Since the individual had only been abstinent for four months 
as of the time of the hearing and had not made a sufficient commitment 
to alcoholism counseling, the Hearing Officer also found that he was 
not rehabilitated or reformed. In addition, the Hearing Officer found 
that by failing to report three of his arrests to the DOE in a timely 
manner, the individual had engaged in conduct which tends to show that 
he was not honest, reliable, or trustworthy. Accordingly, the Hearing 
Officer recommended that the individual's access authorization not be 
restored.

Implementation of Special Refund Procedures

Vessels Gas Processing Co., 12/21/95, VEF-0007

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order implementing special refund 
procedures to distribute $1,564,223 (plus accrued interest) which 
Vessels Gas Processing Company (Vessels) remitted to the DOE pursuant 
to a Consent Order. The Decision sets forth refund application 
procedures for customers who claim that they were injured as a result 
of purchases of natural gas liquids and natural gas liquid products 
from Vessels during the period from September 1, 1973 though December 
31, 1977. If any funds remain after meritorious claims are paid, the 
Decision provides that they will be used for indirect restitution 
through the States in accordance with the Petroleum Overcharge 
Distribution and Restitution Act of 1986.

Refund Applications

Atlantic Richfield Company/Associated Transport, Inc, 12/21/95, RF304-
12217

    LK, Inc., filed an application in the ARCO special refund 
proceeding with respect to purchases of ARCO products made by 
Associated Transport, Inc. LK, Inc., claimed to have acquired the right 
to the refund from Associated Transport while that firm was in 
bankruptcy. The assignment in question transferred claims in the 
``Stripper Well'' litigation. Since the ARCO proceeding is unrelated to 
the Stripper Well Litigation, the DOE found that the assignment did not 
transfer Associated Transport's right to an ARCO refund. Accordingly, 
the application filed by LK, Inc., was denied.

Columbia LNG, 12/21/95, RC272-00326

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order in the crude oil refund 
proceeding concerning an Application for Refund filed by Columbia LNG. 
Columbia was granted a refund based on the purchase of Natural Gas 
Liquids, some of which have now been shown to be either imported from 
foreign sources or were acquired as a result of a first sale into U.S. 
Commerce. These purchases are not eligible for refunds in this 
proceeding. Accordingly, the DOE rescinded that portion of Columbia's 
refund which was based on those ineligible gallons.

Mobil Oil Corp./Frontier Petroleum Company, 12/19/95, RR225-45

    Frontier Petroleum Company filed a motion for modification seeking 
the reissuance of a refund check that had been issued to it from the 
Mobil Oil Corp. Special Refund Proceeding. According to Frontier, the 
check was issued to it in 1989, but was never cashed. The DOE denied 
Frontier's motion, finding that it was unable to trace the check and 
thereby lacked a reasonable basis to conclude that Frontier had not 
cashed the check.

Tajon, Inc., 12/21/95, RC272-325

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order concerning an Application for 
Refund submitted in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding by Tajon, 
Inc. The DOE previously granted a crude oil refund to Tajon. Tajon had 
filed a Surface Transporters Escrow Settlement Claim Form and Waiver in 
the Stripper Well proceeding. This Claim Form and

[[Page 48946]]

Waiver was dismissed because Tajon had repeatedly failed to provide 
information which DOE required in order to process the claim. The DOE 
has determined that a Waiver is binding in situations where the 
Stripper Well application was dismissed for lack of information and the 
applicant was otherwise eligible for a Stripper Well refund. 
Accordingly, the refund granted to Tajon, Inc. is rescinded.

The 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field, The 341 Tract Unit of the 
Citronelle Field/Litigating Refiners, 12/18/95, VFX-0006, RF345-50

    The Office of the Hearings and Appeals directed that the DOE 
Controller take steps to disburse funds into nine escrow accounts 
pursuant to a court-approved settlement of litigation involving a $144 
million escrow fund. That fund originated when exception relief was 
approved for The 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field.

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/      RR304-0065                     12/21/95
 Bassman, Mitchell & Alfano.                                            
Atlantic Richfield Company/Del   RF304-13302                    12/18/95
 Real Arco Service et al.                                               
Atlantic Richfield Company/      RR304-00070                    12/19/95
 General Equities, Inc..                                                
Catherine Barber...............  RJ272-00003                    12/21/95
Crude Oil Supplemental Refund    RB272-00027                    12/18/95
 Distribution.                                                          
Farmers Coop Oil Co............  RF272-97922                    12/19/95
Park Region Coop...............  RF272-97925                            
Morrow County Grain Growers....  RF272-97930                            
Jacobson Transport, Inc. et al.  RF272-74695                    12/19/95
Lester Chambers et al..........  RK272-00459                    12/21/95
Limoneira Co. et al............  RK272-00024                    12/18/95
Lyndon Town School District et   RF272-96200                    12/19/95
 al.                                                                    
MacFarlane Co.--USA, L.L.C. et   RK272-02496                    12/18/95
 al.                                                                    
Mary Jo Pihlstrom et al........  RK272-02662                    12/21/95
Pat Marple et al...............  RK272-00507                    12/21/95
Salomon Valley Coop et al......  RF272-00172                    12/18/95
Texaco Inc./Engler's Texaco....  RF321-20736                    12/18/95
Wilbert Frye Residuary Trust et  RK272-02808                    12/21/95
 al.                                                                    
                                                                        

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

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                     Name                               Case No.        
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Marol Realty, Inc............................  RK272-00244              
Montclair Arco...............................  RF304-15389              
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[FR Doc. 96-23734 Filed 9-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P