[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72307-72308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34680]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Hearings and Appeals


Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of August 31 
through September 4, 1998

    During the week of August 31 through September 4, 1998, 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, 950 
L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC, Monday through Friday, 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: December 22, 1998.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Department of Energy

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Washington, D.C. 20585-0107

Decision List No. 101, Week of August 31 through September 4, 1998

Appeals

Heart of America Northwest, 9/2/98, VFA-0435

    Heart of America Northwest filed an Appeal from July 1, 1998 and 
July 7, 1998 determinations of the Director of the Office of External 
Affairs (Director) of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Richland 
Operations Office requesting copies of documents regarding various 
types of waste at the Hanford Site. In considering the Appeal, the DOE 
determined that the Director should not have withheld the name of a 
commercially available chemical product, but that the Director properly 
withheld other responsive information pursuant to Exemption 4. 
Accordingly, the DOE partially granted the Heart of America Northwest 
Appeal.

Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 9/2/98, VFA-0434

    The Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Decision and Order (D&O) 
denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal that was filed by 
Scripps Institute of Oceanography. In its Appeal, Scripps requested 
that we review a determination issued by the Federal Energy Technology 
Center that certain documents relating to the relationship between a 
DOE contractor and one of its subcontractors were exempt in their 
entirety from mandatory disclosure pursuant to Exemptions 4 and 7(A). 
In the Decision, the OHA found that the documents were voluntarily 
submitted for purposes of Exemption 4 and were thus confidential under 
the Critical Mass decision because they were customarily treated as 
confidential by the contractor. The documents were therefore properly 
withheld under Exemption 4. However, the OHA found that Exemption 7(A) 
was inapplicable because the documents were not compiled for law 
enforcement purposes, as that term is used in the Exemption.

William Payne, 9/3/98, VFA-0436

    William Payne (Payne) filed an Appeal from a determination of the 
Department of Energy's (DOE) Albuquerque Operations Office requesting 
copies of documents related to contracts between a private company and 
Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratories or DOE. 
DOE stated that the type of procurement files requested are not 
``agency records'' and thus not subject to release under the FOIA. In 
considering the Appeal, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) 
determined that the records requested were the property of the 
contractor and were not covered by the FOIA. Accordingly, the DOE 
denied Payne's Appeal.

Personnel Security

Personnel Security Hearing, 8/31/98, VSO-0203

    An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer recommended that 
the Personnel Security Division of the Department of Energy/Albuquerque 
Operations Office restore an

[[Page 72308]]

individual's access authorization. After carefully examining the record 
of the proceeding, the Hearing Officer determined that the individual 
had demonstrated that he is sufficiently rehabilitated and reformed 
from his past alcohol dependence problem.

Refund Application

Oasis Petroleum Corporation/Kash N' Karry Food Stores, Inc., 9/2/98, 
RF348-1

    The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting an Application for 
Refund filed by Kash n' Karry Food Stores, Inc., in the Oasis special 
refund proceeding. The DOE found that the Applicant made a reasonable 
demonstration that its predecesor, Lucky Stores, Inc., was injured by 
Oasis' violation of federal petroleum allocation regulations. The total 
refund amount granted to the applicant in this Decision is $537,869 
(comprised of $394,724 in principal and $143,145 in interest).

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.

Ainsworth Van Lines, Inc. et al........................  RF272-85019                                     8/31/98
Atchison Casting Corp..................................  RK272-01565                                      9/2/98
Barton Brands, Ltd.....................................  RK272-04299                                      9/2/98
Nordis A. Lindholm.....................................  RK272-04828                                      9/2/98
Wal-Mac, Inc...........................................  RK272-03957                                      9/2/98
 

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed.

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                     Name                               Case No.
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Hydro Conduit Corp...........................  RK272-04379
Ineel Research Bureau........................  VFA-0352
Kathy Cagle..................................  VFA-0437
L.G. Shartzer................................  RK272-01551
Personnel Security Hearing...................  VSO-0225
Sarah L. Wicklund............................  RK272-04200
Wrenn Lumber Corp............................  RK272-01552
Vapor Corp...................................  RK272-04776
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[FR Doc. 98-34680 Filed 12-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P