[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 104 (Friday, May 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29340-29342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14165]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of March 24
Through March 28, 1997
During the week of March 24 through March 28, 1997, 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.
[[Page 29341]]
Dated: May 21, 1997.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Decision List No. 26
Appeals
Alexander German, 3/28/97, VFA-0275
The DOE denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal filed by
Alexander German. German sought information concerning a particular
Office of the Inspector General (IG) investigation. In its decision,
the DOE found that the IG's withholding of the identities of
individuals who had provided information to the IG was appropriate
under FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C).
Burlin McKinney, 3/28/97, VFA-0273
The DOE granted in part a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal
filed by Burlin McKinney. McKinney sought information concerning a
particular Office of the Inspector General (IG) investigation. In its
decision, the DOE found that the IG's withholding of the identities of
individuals who had provided information to the IG was appropriate
under FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C). The DOE also concluded that the IG's
withholding of a portion of an internal DOE memorandum under Exemption
5 was proper. However, the DOE found that the IG redacted some
information that it had released to McKinney previously and remanded
the matter to the IG for a review of the withheld material.
Chemical Weapons Working Group, Inc., 3/25/97, VFA-0272
Chemical Weapons Working Group, Inc., filed an Appeal from a
Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) determination that partially
granted a request for information made under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA). In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that certain cover
sheets, background information and headings could not be withheld
pursuant to any FOIA Exemption and ordered the release of this
information or an explanation for withholding. The DOE also found that
the FETC adequately searched for responsive information and that the
FETC properly withheld some material pursuant to Exemption 3, 4, and 5,
of the FOIA.
Personnel Security Review
Personnel Security Review, 3/24/97, VSA-0102
An individual whose access authorization had been suspended filed a
request for review of a DOE Hearing Officer's recommendation against
its restoration. The individual's access authorization had been
suspended by virtue of a DOE Office's receipt of derogatory information
indicting that the individual had used marijuana, an illegal drug, and
had provided DOE with false information in a Personnel Security
Interview (PSI). At a hearing a DOE Hearing Officer found that the
individual had failed to show sufficient mitigation from his recent
drug use or the falsification. In his Appeal, the individual requested
that he be given an opportunity of complete a year of rehabilitation
and challenged the Hearing Officer's findings regarding the weight of
evidence to be accorded his character witnesses. The individual also
challenged the Hearing Officer's determination the he was a frequent or
regular user of marijuana and argued that his recent job performance
should be used in the decision regarding his clearance. Upon review,
the Director found that the individual could not be given an
opportunity to complete a year of rehabilitation and that the Hearing
Officer had properly accorded the character witnesses sufficient
evidentiary weight. The Director also found that the individual's
recent job performance did not mitigate the security concerns raised by
the individual's recent use of marijuana and falsification. However,
the Director found that there was not sufficient evidence for the
Hearing Officer to conclude that the individual was a frequent or
regular user of marijuana. Despite this finding, the Director
determined that the individual had failed to present sufficient
evidence to mitigate the security concerns raised by his recent
marijuana use and that the Hearing Officer had sufficient grounds to
support his finding regarding falsification. Consequently, the Director
recommended that the individual's clearance not be restored.
Refund Applications
Enron Corp./H.C. Oil Company, Inc., 3/28/97, RF340-1
The DOE issued a Decision and Order concerning an application for
refund in the Enron Corporation (Enron) special refund proceeding filed
by H.C. Oil Company, Inc. (HCOC). The DOE found that HCOC was a
reseller whose purchases from Enron were made on the spot market, were
sporadic and discretionary in nature, and were unrelated to any of
HCOC's business obligations to its regular customers. Accordingly, the
DOE found that HCOC fit the spot market presumption of non-injury for
resellers, and that the firm had not made a showing of injury to
overcome this presumption. The DOE, therefore, denied the application
for refund.
Oivind Lorentzen Shipping AS, 3/26/97, RR272-281
The DOE granted a Motion for Reconsideration filed on behalf of
Oivind Lorentzen Shipping AS (Oivind) in the crude oil overcharge
refund proceeding. Oivind's original Application for Refund was denied
because the DOE found that the estimation method used by Oivind to
determine its petroleum purchases was unreasonable. Upon
reconsideration the DOE found that Oivind's new estimation method was
reasonable and granted the firm a 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.
BUFFALO PAPERBOARD CORPORATION........................... RK272-04124 3/26/97
CENTRAL COAT & APRON, INC. ET AL......................... RK272-03646 3/28/97
DFDS A/S................................................. RG272-00490 3/26/97
FT. THOMAS UNIFIED DISTRICT 7 ET AL...................... RF272-95354 3/28/97
HAROLD HENLEY............................................ RJ272-41 3/26/97
JOSEPH B. HENDERSON ET AL................................ RK272-04135 3/28/97
ROGGEN FARMERS ELEVATOR ASSOC. ET AL..................... RG272-00009 3/26/97
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed:
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Name Case No.
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AYRES CORP................................... RF272-98694
[[Page 29342]]
BERTIE COUNTY SCHOOL BUS GARAGE.............. RG272-739
BLUE BELL, INC............................... RF272-98666
CLARKSTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT........... RF272-98799
COLUMBUS COUNTY BD OF EDUCATION.............. RF272-89674
DAKOTA OIL COMPANY........................... RF355-24
FLEMING COMPANIES, INC....................... RK272-3910
GARDEN STATE ROAD MATERIALS, INC............. RG272-282
GIBBEL BROTHERS, INC......................... RF272-98674
GRANITE ROCK CO.............................. RF272-98649
GREEN COUNTY BD OF EDUCATION................. RG272-989
H.B. FULLER AUTOMOTIVE CO.................... RK272-4061
KARL SCHMIDT UNISA, INC...................... RK272-4060
LAWRENCE TEXTILE, INC........................ RK272-3907
MARITIME OVERSEAS CORP....................... RF272-98775
PERSONNEL SECURITY HEARING................... VSO-0127
PIONEER NURSERY.............................. RK272-4059
SIMONDS INDUSTRIES, INC...................... RK272-4062
STEVEDORING SERVICES OF AMERICA, INC......... RK272-3908
UNION COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT................. RF272-88995
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY.................. RF272-86876
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[FR Doc. 97-14165 Filed 5-29-97; 8:45 am]
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