[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 183 (Thursday, September 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49320-49322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24024]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders From the Week of June
24 Through June 28, 1996
During the week of June 24 through June 28, 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, S.W.,
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: September 5, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Appeals
Anibal L. Taboas, 6/26/96, VFA-0171
The OHA remanded on appeal a request to the Chicago Operations
Office (COO) for information concerning complaints, investigations, or
other information concerning the appellant. COO had withheld responsive
documents in their entirety pursuant to Exemptions 5, 6, and 7A of the
Freedom of Information Act. The OHA found that COO had failed to
consider whether the withheld documents contained releasable material
that could be reasonably segregated, and had failed to apply a
foreseeable harm test to withheld material.
Bradley S. Tice, 6/26/96, VFA-0172
Bradley S. Tice filed an Appeal from a determination issued to him
on May 8, 1996 by the Department of Energy's Albuquerque Operations
Office (AO) which denied a request for information he filed under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The request sought information
regarding ``aspects of nuclear propulsion for aircraft as well as
Richard Feynman's patented design for a nuclear reactor to heat air for
a jet engine.'' AO stated that it conducted a search of its records as
the Los Alamos National Laboratory and found no responsive documents.
The Appeal challenged the adequacy of the search conducted by AO. In
considering the Appeal, the DOE found that AO conducted an adequate
search which was reasonably calculated to discover documents responsive
to Mr. Tice's Request. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied.
David W. Smith, 6/27/96 VFA-0173
David W. Smith filed an Appeal from a determination by the
Department of Energy's Albuquerque Operations Office (AO). Mr. Smith's
mother had filed a request for records relating to her late husband's
exposure to radiation while he worked for the Atomic Energy Commission
from 1948 to 1956. AO stated that it had conducted a search of its
records at AO's Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHD) and at
the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and provided Mrs. Smith with
a copy of the radiation dosimetry records it discovered at LANL. In his
Appeal, Mr. Smith implicitly argued that AO conducted an inadequate
search for records relating to his father. In considering the Appeal,
the DOE found that AO conducted an adequate search which was reasonably
calculated to discover documents responsive to Mrs. Smith's Request.
Accordingly, the Appeal was denied.
Keith E. Loomis, 6/28/96 VFA-0166
Keith E. Loomis filed an Appeal from a denial by the Office of
Naval Reactors of a request for information that he filed under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In considering one report that was
withheld but was not addressed in either of the previous Decisions and
Orders regarding this Appeal, the Director of Naval Reactors reviewed
the report and identified it as Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information
(NNPI) material. The DOE therefore determined that the report should be
withheld under Exemption 3 of the FOIA. Accordingly, the Appeal was
denied.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, 6/25/96 VFA-0169
The Cincinnati Enquirer filed an Appeal from a determination issued
to it by the Ohio Field Office of the Department of Energy (DOE) in
response to a Request for Information submitted under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that
the Ohio Field Office improperly withheld names of DOE evaluators of a
contractor ``rebaseline'' preliminary proposal under Exemption 6 of the
FOIA. In particular, the DOE found that, except in unusual cases,
federal employees have no privacy interest either in being identified
as federal employees or in their work for the federal government. The
DOE also found that where as here a branch of the agency acts in the
spirit of the FOIA and releases the substance of internal,
predecisional, deliberative documents, it may be permissible to
withhold the names of DOE reviewers/evaluators under the ``deliberative
process'' privilege incorporated into Exemption 5
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of the FOIA when necessary to vindicate the policies protected by that
Exemption. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied in part, granted in part,
and remanded to the Ohio Field Office to determine whether withholding
the names in this case would protect a valid FOIA exemption policy
under Exemption 5.
Refund Applications
Eason Oil Co:/Propane Sales, et al., 6/24/96, RF352-4; RF352-5
The DOE issued a Decision and Order concerning refund applications
that Propane Sales and Mangum Oil & Gas submitted in the Eason Oil
Company (Eason) special refund proceeding. The DOE found that Propane
Sales was a retailer of Eason products who qualified for a refund under
the 60% mid-range presumption of injury, and that Mangum Oil & Gas was
a retailer of Eason products who qualified for a refund under the small
claim presumption of injury. The DOE granted Propane Sales and Mangum
Oil & Gas a total refund of $59,701.
Tennessee Valley Authority, 6/28/96, RF272-23944
The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting an Application for
Refund filed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, a utility and corporate
agency of the Federal Government, in the Subpart V crude oil refund
proceeding. A group of States and Territories (States) objected to the
application on the grounds that the TVA passed through crude oil
overcharges to its customers and that to the pass through the refund to
its customers would constitute indirect restitution, a function that is
reserved for the ``second-stage'' refunds distributed to the States.
Both the States and Philip P. Kalodner, Counsel for Utilities,
Transporters and Manufacturers (Kalodner) objected on the grounds that
the DOE, by signing the Stripper Well Settlement Agreement, waived the
rights of all Federal agencies to receive a crude oil refund. The DOE
rejected the contention that public utility refund applicants should
not be permitted to act as conduits for the distribution of refund
benefits to their injured customers, and found that because the State
and Federal governments are designated conduits for indirect
restitution under the Settlement Agreement, neither waived its right to
direct restitution with respect to its own purchases of refined
petroleum products. The refund granted to the applicant in this
Decision was $1,551,749.
Texaco Inc./Buster's Texaco, 6/24/96, RF321-21087
The Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Decision and Order
rescinding a refund that was granted to Buster's Texaco and its owner,
Ida Williams. The refund was rescinded because the check was returned
to the U.S. Treasury as undeliverable by the Postal Service. Despite
the DOE's best efforts, it was unable to obtain an accurate address for
Ms. Williams. The DOE therefore ordered the check to be redeposited
into the Texaco escrow account.
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.
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY/M&A PETROLEUM................. RF304-15339 06/26/96
CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY.................................... RF272-92544 06/27/96
CRUDE OIL SUPPLE. REF., ET AL............................ RB272-00078 06/26/96
DIRECT TRANSIT LINE, INC. ET AL.......................... RF272-78488 06/26/96
ESTELLINE COMMUNITY OIL CO. ET AL........................ RF272-94700 06/26/96
GALASSO TRUCKING INC..................................... RC272-343 06/26/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/JOHN'S GULF......................... RF300-20087 06/24/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/PIONEER OIL CO. OF MISSOURI, INC.... RF300-8134 06/26/96
JANICE MUELLER, ET AL.................................... RK272-01331 06/28/96
MARV'S TOWING SERVICE, INC............................... RK272-03497 06/26/96
OLGA STARR, ET AL........................................ RK272-682 06/26/96
SIEMENS ALLIS, INC., ET AL............................... RF272-91918 06/28/96
SILEX R.I. SCHOOL DISTRICT............................... RF272-95950 06/27/96
BROOKFIELD LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT......................... RF272-95992 ..............
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed:
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Name Case No.
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A.M. VOGEL, INC.............................. RF272-99113
ASSUMPTION-CALVARY CEMETERIES................ RF272-98991
AVALON PETROLEUM CO.......................... RF342-0001
BARTLETT-COLLINS............................. RF272-97797
BARTLETT-COLLINS............................. RF272-97900
CATTARAUGAS-ALLEGANY-ERIE-WYOMING BOCES...... RF272-97714
DIOCESE OF ST. CLOUD......................... RF272-98990
FARMERS COOPERATIVE ELEVATOR COMPANY......... RG272-323
LAKES GAS COMPANY............................ VER-0001
RYAN AVIATION CORPORATION.................... RF272-97958
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SCHOOL................... RF272-97839
STU-BROCK SERVICE, INC....................... RF304-15065
YELLOW CAB OF MARTINSVILLE................... RK272-2322
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[FR Doc. 96-24024 Filed 9-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
