[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 2, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51444-51446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25182]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of March 11
Through March 15, 1996
During the week of March 11 through March 15, 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, SW.,
Washington, DC 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: September 24, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Decision List No. 963
Appeals
Helen Ruth Sutton-Pank, 3/11/96, VFA-0130
Helen Ruth Sutton-Pank (Sutton-Pank) filed an Appeal from a
determination issued to her by the Albuquerque Operations Office (DOE/
AL) of the Department of Energy (DOE). In her Appeal, Sutton-Pank
asserted that DOE/AL improperly failed to provide her with medical
records in the possession of Lockheed/Martin, the contractor operating
Sandia National Laboratories, which she had requested pursuant to the
FOIA. The DOE determined that the Lockheed/Martin
[[Page 51445]]
records were not agency records within the meaning of the FOIA and
Sutton-Pank's Appeal was denied.
James E. Minter, 3/12/96, VFA-0132
James E. Minter filed an Appeal from a determination issued to him
on January 9, 1996, by the Albuquerque Operations Office (Albuquerque)
in response to a request for information Mr. Minter submitted under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In that determination, Albuquerque
stated that it could not find the information Mr. Minter requested,
copies of statements or reports by Ray Parrett, Chief of the
Transportation Safety Division at Oak Ridge Operations Office. Mr.
Parrett recalled having taken the notes Mr. Minter was requesting, but
the notes could not be located, Mr. Parrett having since retired. We
determined that Albuquerque followed procedures which were reasonably
calculated to uncover the information sought by Mr. Minter. Therefore,
the Appeal was denied.
James H. Stebbings, 3/11/96, VFA-0123
James H. Stebbings (Appellant) filed an Appeal from a determination
issued by the Department of Energy's Argonne Group in response to a
request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The DOE had
forwarded the Appellant's request for documents relating to radiation
level testing of human subjects who had been in Eastern Europe during
the time of the Chernobyl nuclear incident to the Chicago Operations
Office (COO), which in turn forwarded the request to the Argonne Group.
The Argonne Group determined that no responsive documents existed at
that location. The Appellant challenged the adequacy of the Argonne
Group search, citing three responsive documents he had discovered in a
commonly accessed internal Argonne bibliography. In the course of
investigating the search, the Argonne Group decided that it would
continue searching for documents. Further, although the Appellant had
mentioned in his request that responsive documents might be found at
Brookhaven National Laboratory (Brookhaven), COO failed to forward the
response to that location. Therefore, the DOE granted the Appeal and
remanded the matter to COO, in order that the request be forwarded to
Brookhaven, and to the Argonne Group.
Janis C. Garrett, 3/11/96, VFA-0131
The DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issued a
determination denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal filed
by Janis C. Garrett (Garrett). Garrett appealed the adequacy of a
search conducted by the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). OHA
found that the search was adequate.
Personnel Security Hearings
Albuquerque Operations Office, 3/11/96, VSO-0073
Under the provisions set forth in 10 C.F.R. Part 710, the
Department of Energy, Albuquerque Operations Office (DOE/AL) denied an
individual's request for an access authorization (``Q'' level security
clearance), based upon derogatory information received by the DOE/AL
which revealed illegal conduct and financial irregularities on the part
of the individual. Following a personnel security interview and
evaluation by a DOE consultant psychiatrist, DOE/AL denied the
individual an access authorization under disqualifying criteria set
forth in: (1) 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(h), that the individual has ``[a]n
illness or mental condition of a nature which, in the opinion of a
board-certified psychiatrist . . . causes, or may cause, a significant
defect in judgment or reliability,'' and (2) 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(1),
that the individual has ``[e]ngaged in [] unusual conduct or is subject
to circumstances which tend to show that the individual is not honest,
reliable, or trustworthy . . . .'' Following a hearing convened at the
request of the individual, the Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing
Officer found in the Opinion that there was substantial evidence to
support the diagnosis rendered by the DOE consultant psychiatrist that
the individual has a mental disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder,
which has caused and may continue to cause a significant defect in his
judgment and reliability. In addition, the Hearing Officer found that
the individual had in a number of incidents demonstrated behavior which
tended to show that he was not honest, reliable or trustworthy.
Accordingly, the Hearing Officer concluded in the Opinion that the
individual should not be granted an access authorization.
Pittsburgh Naval Reactors Office, 3/15/96, VSO-0069
An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an opinion
concerning the continued eligibility of an individual for access
authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Hearing Officer found that
the circumstances surrounding the late filing of the individual's tax
returns do not require the revocation of the individual's security
clearance. The Hearing Officer found that the individual's failure to
file these tax returns on time was not motivated by a desire to break
the law or for personal gain as both the federal and the state
government owed her money. The Hearing Officer determined that the
individual was an honest person who had problems organizing her
financial records and was rehabilitated because the overdue tax returns
had been filed and steps had been taken to ensure that future tax
returns would be filed on time. Thus, the Hearing Officer concluded
that the individual had not engaged in conduct which tends to show that
she is not honest, reliable or trustworthy. 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(1).
Accordingly, the Hearing Officer found that restoration of the access
authorization would not be contrary to the national interest or
endanger the common defense and security and recommended restoration of
the access authorization.
Implementation of Special Refund Procedures
Brio Petroleum Inc., VEF-0017; Merit Petroleum Co., VEF-0018;
Transcontinential Energy Corp., VEF-0020; UTEX Oil Company, 3/14/96,
VEF-0021.
The DOE issued a Decision and Order implementing procedures for the
distribution of $420,922.73 plus accrued interest in alleged
overcharges obtained from Brio Petroleum Inc., Merit Petroleum Company,
Transcontinental Energy Corporation and Utex Oil Company. These funds
were remitted by each firm to the DOE to settle possible pricing
violations with respect to sales of crude oil. The DOE has determined
that these monies will be distributed in accordance with the DOE's
Modified Statement of Restitutionary Policy Concerning Crude Oil
Overcharges. Under that policy, 20% will be divided among injured
purchasers of refined products, 40% to the federal government, and 40%
among the states.
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.
BEL-RAY COMPANY, INC..................................... RF272-77250 03/12/96
CITRONELLE/SUNLAND REFINING CORP. ET AL.................. RF345-27 03/11/96
[[Page 51446]]
CRUDE OIL SUPPLE REF DIST................................ RB272-0068 03/12/96
DOROTHY BARBEN ET AL..................................... RK272-1107 03/14/96
EARL OVERMOE ET AL....................................... RK272-02900 03/12/96
EVELYN WURDEMAN ET AL.................................... RK272-2065 03/14/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/C.B. HUGHES ET AL................... RF300-16893 03/12/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/HICKS & RAPELYE GULF ET AL.......... RF300-19604 03/14/96
LONE STAR INDUSTRIES ET AL............................... RK272-2669 03/14/96
TMBR/SHARP DRILLING, INC. ET AL.......................... RK272-2621 03/11/96
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed:
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Name Case No.
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AHLHORN GROCERY & SERVICE STATION............ RF300-16262
BOB'S GULF................................... RF300-13249
C&C COLA..................................... RF272-78276
GIL TAYLOR GULF.............................. RF300-16368
IGERT, INC................................... RF300-16721
KOBI GULF.................................... RF300-20245
RESTON'S GULF SERVICE CENTER................. RF300-16449
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[FR Doc. 96-25182 Filed 10-1-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
