[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 183 (Thursday, September 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49322-49323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24025]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of January 15 
Through January 19, 1996

    During the week of January 15 through January 19, 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, 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: September 9, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Appeals

Dennis McQuade, 1/16/96, VFA-0092

    Dennis McQuade filed an Appeal from determinations issued by 
several DOE Offices concerning personnel problems at the Oak Ridge 
Operations office. In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that (1) 
documents created as a result of a personnel inquiry were not properly 
withheld under FOIA Exemption 7(C) & (D) because they were not law 
enforcement records; (2) documents may not be withheld under Exemption 
6 unless the privacy interest in the withheld information outweighs the 
public interest in the release of the information; and (3) names and 
negative information about individuals were properly withheld under 
FOIA Exemption 6.

Jeffrey R. Leist, 1/18/96, VFA-0107

    Jeffrey R. Leist filed an Appeal from a determination issued to him 
on November 15, 1995 by the Manager of the Ohio Field Office of the 
Department of Energy (DOE). In that determination, the Manager 
partially denied a request for information filed by Mr.Leist pursuant 
to a Freedom of Information Act request. Specifically, the Manager 
provided Mr. Leist with a copy of an employee list responsive to a part 
of Mr. Leist's request, but he redacted all names in accordance with 
Exemption 6 of the FOIA. Furthermore, the Manager was unable to locate 
any documents responsive to another part of Mr.Leist's request. In 
considering the Appeal, the DOE determined that the Manager properly 
withheld the names of employees from disclosure. With regard to the 
inability of the Manager to locate additional responsive documents, the 
DOE determined that the Manager is in the process of reviewing an 
amended request provided by Mr. Leist. Accordingly, the DOE directed 
the Manager of the Ohio Field Office to complete his review of Mr. 
Leist's amended request and send to Mr. Leist any responsive documents 
he may find or state the reasons why any responsive documents are 
exempt from mandatory disclosure. Since the DOE determined that 
Exemption 6 was otherwise properly applied to the names of employees, 
the Appeal was denied in all other respects.

Vectra Government Services, Inc., 1/18/96 VFA-0097

    VECTRA Government Services filed an Appeal from a determination 
issued by the Rocky Flats Field Office concerning a procurement. In 
considering the Appeal, the DOE found that Rocky Flats properly 
withheld the evaluative portion of the Source Evaluation Board Report 
(SEB) under FOIA Exemption 5. DOE also held that the search conducted 
by Rocky Flats for documents concerning whether the SEB selection was 
overridden was adequate.

William Kuntz III, 1/16/96, VFA-0105

    William Kuntz III filed an Appeal from a determination issued to 
him on November 3, 1995 by the Department of Energy's Albuquerque Field 
Office (DOE/AL). In that determination, the DOE/AL denied a request for 
information filed by Mr. Kuntz on October 12, 1995, under the Freedom 
of Information Act (FOIA). The DOE/AL stated the records sought by Mr. 
Kuntz are ``agency records,'' and thus are not subject to the FOIA. In 
his Appeal, Mr. Kuntz challenged DOE/AL denial of the requested 
information and asked the OHA to direct DOE/AL to release the requested 
information. In considering the Appeal, the Office of Hearings and 
Appeals found that the records sought by Mr. Kuntz are neither ``agency 
records'' within the meaning of the FOIA, nor subject to the FOIA under 
the DOE regulations. Therefore, the Department of Energy denied Mr. 
Kuntz's Appeal.

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.

ABBOTT TRUCKING, INC.....................................  RF272-78473                                  01/16/96
ALDEN ASSOCIATES.........................................  RK272-242                                    01/16/96
AMERICAN ENKA COMPANY, ET AL.............................  RF272-77453                                  01/16/96
CARLETON G. WHITAKER, INC., ET AL........................  RK272-883                                    01/16/96
CRUDE OIL SUPPLE. REFUND DIST............................  RB272-59                                     01/16/96
DANIEL INTERNATIONAL CORP., ET AL........................  RF272-86103                                  01/16/96
GOLDEN CAT DIVISION/RALSTON PURINA COMPANY...............  RK272-319                                    01/16/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/WOOD RIVER OIL & REFINING...........  RF300-13355                                  01/16/96
HOME LINES CRUISES, INC..................................  RK272-259                                    01/16/96
ICI EXPLOSIVES, ET AL....................................  RK272-00550                                  01/17/96
MOSCOW SCHOOL DISTRICT #281, ET AL.......................  RF272-99100                                  01/17/96
NORANDEX, INC., ET AL....................................  RK272-2827                                   01/16/96
SIOUX TRANSPORTATION.....................................  RF272-78493                                  01/17/96
SPIRIT OF AMERICA AIRLINES...............................  RF272-97968                                  01/16/96
DAL JET INC..............................................  RF272-97979                                          
                                                                                                                

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

[[Page 49323]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Name                               Case No.        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTOMATIC GAS COMPANY, INC...................  RF304-14250              
DISCOUNT FUEL................................  LEE-0090                 
DIXIE ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORP...............  RF272-78389              
FRANK THOMPSON TRANSPORT.....................  RF272-78153              
IDAHO OPERATIONS OFFICE......................  VSO-0070                 
MCDONALD & DONOVAN HEATING...................  RF304-15001              
NATIONAL FRUIT PRODUCT COMPANY...............  RF272-78120              
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 96-24025 Filed 9-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P