[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 183 (Thursday, September 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49323-49324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24026]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of April 29
Through May 3, 1996
During the week of April 29 through May 3, 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 10, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Appeal
Stoel, Rives LLP, 4/29/96, VFA-0145
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal from a determination
issued by the DOE's Office of Inspector General (OIG) with respect to a
request for information concerning the OIG's audit of the Bonneville
Power Authority's (BPA) Energy Resource programs was considered by the
Office of Hearings and Appeals. The Office of Hearings and Appeals
issued a decision on April 29, 1996 remanding part of the Appeal to OIG
and denying the Appeal in all other aspects. In reaching its
determination, the Office of Hearings and Appeals found that: (1) the
identities of audit information sources were properly withheld under
Exemptions 6 and 7(C); and (2) the DOE is not required to produce a
Vaughn index at the administrative appeal level.
Personnel Security Hearing
Albuquerque Operations Office, 5/1/96, VSO-0079
An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an opinion
under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 concerning eligibility of an individual for
access authorization. After considering the testimony at the hearing
convened at the request of the individual and all other information in
the record, the Hearing Officer found that the individual has been a
user of alcohol habitually to excess, which is derogatory information
under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 710.8(j), and has an illness or mental condition,
Substance Dependence, Alcohol, which, in the opinion of a board-
certified psychiatrist, causes or may cause a significant in judgment
or reliability and is thus derogatory information under 10 C.F.R.
Sec. 710.8(h). The Hearing Officer further found that the individual
failed to present sufficient evidence of rehabilitation, reformation or
other factors to mitigate the derogatory information. Specifically, the
Hearing Officer found that the individual's abstention from alcohol for
five months and participation in alcohol abuse counseling for two and a
half months were not of sufficient duration to significantly reduce the
risk that the Individual might resume drinking. Accordingly, the
Hearing Officer recommended that the individual's access authorization,
which had been suspended, should not be restored.
Oak Ridge Operations Office, 5/2/96 VSO-0068
A Hearing Officer from the Office of Hearings and Appeals issued an
Opinion regarding the eligibility of an individual to maintain an
access authorization under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The
individual was alleged to be alcohol dependent, based upon the
diagnosis of a board-certified psychiatrist. The Hearing Officer found
that the term ``alcohol dependence'' as used in DOE regulations meant
alcohol dependence as it is commonly understood in the mental health
community. However, the psychiatrist did not apply generally accepted
standards in making his diagnosis of alcohol dependence. The Hearing
Officer, consequently, could not find that the individual was alcohol
dependent. However, the Hearing Officer did find that the individual
was a user of alcohol habitually to excess. Accordingly, the Hearing
Officer found that the individual's access authorization should not be
restored.
Pittsburgh Naval Reactors Office, 5/3/96, VSO-0081
An OHA Hearing Officer issued an opinion concerning an individual
whose access authorization was suspended because of doubts concerning
his financial situation and his reliability and trustworthiness. The
Hearing Officer found that the individual had failed to mitigate the
DOE's concerns arising from the individual's unpaid debts of
approximately $32,000. She found that although the individual's
financial crisis appeard to have been caused by the loss of employment,
the individual had failed to take any steps to reduce or eliminate the
debt once he was reemployed. Accordingly, the Hearings Officer found
that the individual had done nothing to mitigate the DOE's concerns
regarding his reliability and trustworthiness, and that his acccess
authorization should not be restored.
Request for Exception
Lakes Gas Company, 4/30/96, VEE-0018
Lakes Gas Company (Lakes) 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'' In considering this request, the DOE found that the firm
was not suffering gross inequity or serious hardship. Therefore, the
DOE denied Lake's Application for Exception.
Visa Petroleum, Inc., 4/30/96, VEE-0017
Visa Petroleum, Inc., filed an Application for extension of the
exception relief previously granted the firm from the requirement that
it file Form EIA-782B, the ``Reseller/Retailer's Monthly Petroleum
Product Sales Report.'' In view of the firm's precarious
[[Page 49324]]
financial condition resulting from continuing losses and the poor
health of the owner's wife, who prepares the report, the DOE found that
submitting the report would cause the firm unusally severe problems.
Accordingly, exception relief was extended through May 1998.
Supplemental Order
Akin Energy, 4/30/96, VFX-0007
The DOE issued a Supplemental Order regarding Akin Energy (Akin), a
private filing service. In the Supplemental Order, the DOE announces
that Akin, its officers and employees are barred from receiving future
refund checks in any proceedings conducted by OHA under 10 C.F.R. Part
205, Subpart V. DOE's action was prompted by two instances where Akin
failed to repay money erroneously paid to it and are of its clients by
DOE. Because Akin failed to repay the amount it owes to DOE, the DOE
found that Akin should be barred from receiving refund checks on behalf
of its clients.
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.
CAPITAL TRANSPORT CO., INC............................... RR272-0198 04/30/96
CIMARRON VALLEY COOPERATIVE.............................. RF272-97138 05/03/96
AGRI-URBAN, INC.......................................... RF272-97158
CRUDE OIL SUPPLEMENTAL REFUND............................ RB272-00074 04/29/96
CRUDE OIL SUPPLEMENTAL REFUNDS........................... RB272-00075 04/29/96
DALLAS CARRIERS CORPORATION ET AL........................ RK272-02251 05/03/96
DAVID VOLKERDING ET AL................................... RK272-02400 05/02/96
EDWARD HUCKMAN ESTATE ET AL.............................. RK272-2920 04/29/96
GEORGIA WILLOUGHBY ET AL................................. RK272-02640 05/02/96
GULF OIL CORPORATION/FRENCH & CURTIS, INC./WEBBER ENERGY RF300-20417 04/30/96
FUELS.
LONDON & OVERSEAS FREIGHTERS ET AL....................... RK272-2956 04/29/96
LYONDELL PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY........................... RG272-00532 05/03/96
POWER PRO EQUIPMENT CO./E.V. MARTIN CORPORATION.......... RK272-03432 05/03/96
PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL...................................... RC272-338 05/02/96
RENNER MOTOR LINES, INC.................................. RF272-97081 04/29/96
ROGERS DYE-FINISHING..................................... RF272-69198 04/30/96
ROGERS DYE-FINISHING..................................... RD272-69198
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed:
Name Case No.
CAMERON IRON WORKS........................... RF272-98747
COKER AVIATION, INC.......................... RF272-98731
KITTY HAWK AIR CARGO, INC.................... RF272-98730
RENTON-ISSAQUAH AUTO TRANSPORT............... RF272-99069
WILDER CONSTRUCTION CO., INC................. RF272-77984
[FR Doc. 96-24026 Filed 9-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
