[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 104 (Friday, May 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29343-29344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14167]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Hearings and Appeals


Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of May 
5 Through May 9, 1997

    During the week of May 5 through May 9, 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.

    Dated: May 21, 1997.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Decision List No. 32

Appeals

Alfred G. Bell, 5/5/97, VFA-0286

    Alfred G. Bell filed an Appeal from a determination issued to him 
on March 24, 1997, by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations 
Office (OR). That determination was issued in response to a request for 
information submitted by Mr. Bell under the Freedom of Information Act. 
The request sought a copy of an occurrence report completed as a result 
of Mr. Bell being diagnosed with Chronic Beryllium Disease in 
accordance with criteria outlined in DOE Order 5000.3B. OR conducted a 
search of its files and located a report entitled ``Individual 
Accident/Incident Report.'' However, this was not the document Mr. Bell 
referred to in 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. Bell's request. Accordingly, the 
Appeal was denied.

Burns Concrete, Inc., 5/9/97, VFA-0284

    DOE granted in part and denied in part an Appeal of withholding of 
documents submitted by a third-party in connection with a construction 
project at a DOE laboratory. DOE remanded the request for release of 
non-exempt information.

John D. Kasprowicz, 5/9/97, VFA-0287

    The Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Decision and Order (D&O) 
denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal that was filed by 
John D. Kasprowicz. In his Appeal, Mr. Kasprowicz argued that the 
Manager of the Chicago Operations Office improperly applied FOIA 
Exemption 5 in withholding portions of a document. In the Decision, the 
DOE upheld the Manager's determination, finding that the withheld 
portions are exempt from mandatory disclosure under the deliberative 
process and attorney work product privileges that are incorporated in 
Exemption 5.

Request for Exception

W. Gordon Smith Company, 5/7/97, VEE-0037

    W. Gordon Smith Company (Smith) 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.'' Smith requested relief from the EIA reporting 
requirement because it believed the requirement was unduly burdensome 
to the company. In considering this request, the DOE found that the 
burden placed upon Smith, due to the temporary unavailability of 
personnel to complete the form, was greater than that encountered by 
other firms required to complete Form EIA-782B. Accordingly,

[[Page 29344]]

Smith was granted temporary relief from its obligation to file Form 
EIA-782B.

Refund Application

Wales Transportation, Inc., 5/7/97, RR272-291

    Wales Transportation, Inc. filed a Motion for Reconsideration of 
the denial of its Application for Refund in the Subpart V crude oil 
overcharge refund proceeding. The Office of Hearings and Appeals denied 
that application because the firm had filed a claim and waiver in the 
Surface Transporter refund proceeding, thereby giving up its right to a 
Subpart V refund. In reaching that conclusion, the OHA rejected Wales' 
contention that the filing of the ST claim and waiver were 
unauthorized. In the Motion for Reconsideration, Wales asked the OHA to 
reconsider its determination with respect to the authorization issue. 
In reviewing the Motion, the OHA noted that it is the burden of the 
applicant to substantiate that it is entitled to a refund. The OHA 
found that Wales had failed to submit any new information to 
corroborate its contention that the filing of the claim and waiver were 
unauthorized. Accordingly, the Motion was denied.

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.

C.A. MEYER PAVING & CONST................................  RG272-00904                                    5/5/97
ARLINGTON SALVAGE & WECKER CO............................  RR272-00289                                          
ATLAS ASPHALT, INC.......................................  RG272-00911                                          
C.W. POSS, INC...........................................  RG272-00921                                          
CENTRAL NEBRASKA COOPERATIVE.............................  RF272-93809                                    5/7/97
CORNWALL INDUSTRIES, INC. ET AL..........................  RF272-98604                                    5/6/97
DANIEL GUNTER AND LOIS GUNTER............................  RK272-3145                                     5/7/97
EUGENE REZABEK...........................................  RJ272-43                                       5/9/97
FIRST DISTRICT ASSOCIATION...............................  RG272-699                                      5/9/97
GULF OIL CORPORATION/GOODHUE LUMBER CO., INC.............  RF300-21838                                    5/7/97
GULF OIL CORPORATION/JEANE'S GULF SERVICE................  RF300-21837                                    5/5/97
JAUNTY TEXT DIV OF ADVANCED TEXTILE CO...................  RK272-03583                                    5/5/97
KING GEORGE CNTY PUB SCHLS ET AL.........................  RF272-96303                                    5/5/97
                                                                                                                

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed:

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                     Name                               Case No.        
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ARMCO, INC...................................  RG272-528                
O'CONNOR & YOUNG DRILLING COMPANY............  RG272-16                 
PERSONNEL SECURITY HEARING...................  VSO-0149                 
TABLE ROCK ASPHALT CONSTRUCTION CO...........  RG272-751                
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[FR Doc. 97-14167 Filed 5-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P