[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 208 (Friday, October 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55289-55291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27419]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of
September 9 Through September 13, 1996
During the week of September 9 through September 13, 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.
[[Page 55290]]
Dated: October 17, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Decision List No. 989
Appeals
Cindy David, 9/12/96, VFA-0204
Cindy David filed an Appeal from a partial denial by the Western
Area Power Administration (WAPA) of a Request for Information which Ms.
David had submitted under the Freedom of Information Act. In
considering the Appeal, the DOE found that material which WAPA withheld
by claiming the protection of Exemption 4, overhead expense and general
and administrative expense data, was indeed exempt from disclosure as
proprietary commercial information. The DOE concluded that release of
the withheld material would cause competitive harm to the submitter,
Salazar Associates International. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied.
Dennis J. McQuade, 9/9/96, VFA-0200
Dennis J. McQuade filed an Appeal from a determination by the DOE's
Oak Ridge Operations Office (OR), which denied a request for
information he had filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
OR stated that it conducted a search of its files which included the
Office of Assistant Manager for Defense Programs, the Quality and
Reliability Division, the Safeguards and Security Division, and the
Office of Chief Counsel. OR stated that the only record which could be
located was a record which responded to item 2 of Mr. McQuade's
request. OR provided that record to Mr. McQuade, but stated that no
documents could be located in response to item 1 and item 3 of his
request. The Appeal challenged the adequacy of the search conducted by
OR. In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that OR conducted an
adequate search which was reasonably calculated to discover documents
responsive to Mr. McQuade's Request. Accordingly, the Appeal was
denied.
Diane C. Larson, 9/9/96, VFA-0199
Diane C. Larson filed an Appeal of a determination issued to her in
response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and
the Privacy Act. In the determination, the DOE's Richland Operations
Office (DOE/RL) stated that most of the requested documents were the
property of Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) and were not agency
records, not subject to the FOIA under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 1004.3(e), and
not subject to the Privacy Act. DOE/RL also released some documents
which were under the control of the DOE, but redacted the names and
lengths of service of WHC employees, under Exemption 6 of the FOIA. In
considering the Appeal, the DOE first determined that WHC was not an
agency and therefore not subject to the Privacy Act. The DOE also found
that the requested documents were not agency records, and that those
documents belonged under contract to WHC. The DOE then concluded that
Exemption 6 did not protect the material withheld by DOE/RL. Neither
length of service nor general age are the type of personal information
usually protected by Exemption 6. Accordingly, the DOE granted the
Appeal in part and remanded the matter to DOE/RL for further action.
Mary Towles Taylor, 9/9/96, VFA-0201
Mary Towles Taylor filed an Appeal from a determination by the
DOE's Freedom of Information Office that no records exist which would
indicate whether her father had been exposed to radiation during his
employment at the Oak Ridge Operations Office. After considering the
Appeal, the DOE remanded the matter so that an additional search for
responsive documents could be conducted. Accordingly, the Appeal was
granted in part.
National Security Archive, 9/13/96, VFA-0033
The National Security Archive filed an Appeal from a denial by the
DOE's Oakland Operations Office of a request for information that it
filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In considering the
information that was withheld, pursuant to a review by the Director of
Security Affairs, as National Security Information and Restricted Data
under Exemptions 1 and 3 of the FOIA, the DOE determined that all of
the material previously identified as withholdable must continue to be
withheld. However, more precise deletions now permit additional
portions of the requested information to be released. Accordingly, the
Appeal was granted in part.
US Solar Roof, 9/12/96, VFA-0203
US Solar Roof (USSR) filed an Appeal from a determination by the
DOE's Golden Field Office GFO (Manager). In that determination, the GFO
denied a request for information filed by USSR under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). In considering the Appeal, the DOE confirmed
that the GFO followed procedures reasonably calculated to uncover the
requested information. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied.
William Donnelly, 9/11/96, VFA-0202
The DOE issued a Decision and Order denying a Freedom of
Information Act Appeal that was filed by William Donnelly. In his
Appeal, Mr. Donnelly contested the adequacy of the search for
responsive documents performed by the DOE's Pittsburgh Energy
Technology Center. In the Decision, the DOE found that the search for
responsive documents was adequate.
Personnel Security Hearing
Oak Ridge Operations Office, 9/11/96, VSO-0096
An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an opinion
under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 concerning the eligibility of an individual
for access authorization. After considering the testimony at the
hearing convened at the request of the individual and all other
information in the record, the Hearing Officer found that the
individual (i) deliberately omitted significant information from his
Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions, which is derogatory information
under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(f), (ii) been diagnosed by a board-certified
psychiatrist as suffering from alcohol abuse, which is derogatory
information under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(j), and (iii) been arrested on a
variety of charges, including three recent arrests for driving while
under the influence of alcohol, and had a number of longstanding
delinquent financial obligations, all of which tend to show that the
individual is not reliable, and thus constitute derogatory information
under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(l). The Hearing Officer further found that
the individual failed to present sufficient evidence to mitigate the
derogatory information. Accordingly, the Hearing Officer recommended
that the individual not receive access authorization.
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.
BUCKEYE COOP ELEVATOR CO., ET AL......................... RG272-4 09/12/96
CITY OF ST. PAUL......................................... RJ272-00021 09/09/96
CLIFFORD COHEN, ET AL.................................... RF272-85021 09/11/96
[[Page 55291]]
CRUDE OIL SUPPLE REF DIST................................ RB272-00086 09/12/96
GENERAL MOTOR LINES, INC................................. RF272-97362 09/12/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/LEO & GLEN COMBS, INC............... RF300-21834 09/09/96
S.T. WOOTEN CONSTRUCTION CO.............................. RR272-238 09/11/96
SPIVEY, INC.............................................. RC272-350 09/09/96
SPIVEY, INC.............................................. RC272-351
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Case No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLUE RIDGE TRUSS & SUPPLY, INC............... RG272-736
E.D. FEE TRANSFER, INC....................... RF272-95260
KEWAUNEE COOPERATIVE......................... RG272-695
MIKE HILL FARMS, INC......................... RK272-820
NATIONAL ENTERPRISES......................... RK272-854
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 96-27419 Filed 10-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P