[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 13992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7069]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders by The Office of 
Hearings and Appeals; Week of November 9 Through November 13, 1998

    During the week of November 9 through November 13, 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, D.C. 20585-0107, 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: March 15, 1999.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Decision List No. 111 Week of November 9 Through November 13, 1998

Appeals

Frank E. Isbill, 11/10/98, VFA-0450

    Frank E. Isbill (Isbill) filed an Appeal from a determination 
issued to him by the Oak Ridge Operations Office (OR) of the Department 
of Energy (DOE). In his Appeal, Isbill asserted that OR failed to 
conduct an adequate search for documents, requested pursuant to the 
FOIA, that pertained to various personnel records and complaints at the 
DOE's Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). After 
reviewing the search that was conducted for responsive documents, the 
DOE determined that OR had performed an adequate search. In reaching 
this determination, DOE also held that records held by two contractors 
at OSTI were not agency records subject to the FOIA nor were they 
subject to the DOE's policy on contractor records. Consequently, 
Isbill's Appeal was denied.

Ashok Kaushal, 11/13/98, VFA-0452

    DOE denied an appeal of a determination issued by the Albuquerque 
Operations Office (DOE/AL). OHA found that the search conducted by DOE/
AL was reasonably calculated to uncover material responsive to the 
request.

Tammi D. Mourfield Selvidge, et al., 11/12/98, VFA-0449

    Tammi D. Mourfield Selvidge, et al., filed an appeal from a denial 
by the Oak Ridge Operations Office of a request for information that it 
filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The DOE upheld a 
determination by Oak Ridge that no documents existed that were 
responsive to the request for a list of 100 specified substances. The 
DOE referred the appeal of denial of access to classified information 
to the appropriate office in the Office of Security Affairs, to be 
addressed in Case No. VFA-0451. The DOE did not address the remaining 
issues raised in the appeal because Oak Ridge had not yet issued 
complete determinations regarding them. Accordingly, the appeal was 
denied in part and dismissed in part.

Personnel Security Hearings

Personnel Security Hearing, 11/9/99, VSO-0219

    An OHA Hearing Officer issued an opinion concerning an individual 
whose access authorization was suspended because the DOE obtained 
derogatory information that the individual was alcohol dependent. At a 
hearing convened at the individual's request, the individual maintained 
that he was rehabilitated from alcohol dependence. A DOE consultant 
psychiatrist found that the individual was in full remission from his 
alcohol dependence and had shown adequate evidence of rehabilitation. 
Other witnesses corroborated that the individual had not used alcohol 
for more than one year and that he was committed to his rehabilitation 
program. Based on this evidence, the Hearing Officer found that the 
individual had mitigated the DOE's concern regarding his alcohol 
dependence. Accordingly, the Hearing Officer recommended that the 
individual's access authorization be restored.

Personnel Security Hearing, 11/13/98, VSO-0226

    An OHA Hearing Officer issued an Opinion regarding the eligibility 
of an individual to be granted access authorization under the 
provisions of 10 CFR Part 710. After considering the testimony 
presented at the hearing and the record, the Hearing Officer first 
found that the individual has a mental condition which causes or may 
cause a significant defect in his judgment or reliability. The Hearing 
Officer also found that the individual has been a user of alcohol 
habitually to excess and had been diagnosed by a board-certified 
psychiatrist as alcohol dependent. This finding was based on the DOE 
consultant psychiatrist's diagnosis of alcohol dependence and opinion 
thatthere was insufficient evidence of rehabilitation and reformation. 
The individual's Employment Assistance Program counselor agreed with 
the DOE consultant psychiatrist that the individual was alcohol 
dependent and not yet rehabilitated. Accordingly, the Hearing Officer 
recommended that the individual not be granted access authorization.

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed.

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                   Name                               Case No.
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Apex Oil Co./Clark Oil Co./Albert          RF342-00328
 Burzinski.
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[FR Doc. 99-7069 Filed 3-22-99; 8:45 am]
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