[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 48948-48950] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-23737] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of August 5 Through August 9, 1996 During the week of August 5 through August 9, 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 9, 1996. George B. Breznay Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals. Decision List No. 984 Appeals Marlene Flor, 8/5/96, VFA-0184 Marlene Flor filed an Appeal from a determination issued to her on May 16, 1996 by the Department of Energy's Albuquerque Operations Office (AO) which denied a request for information she had filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The request sought the time and attendance sheets for each employee of the Kirtland Area Office Contracts and Business Management Organization (CBMO). AO released redacted copies of the requested records from which the leave codes and description of the type of leave were deleted. AO determined, pursuant to Exemption 6 of the FOIA, that disclosure of this information would violate the privacy of the employees and would not be in the public interest. Flor's Appeal challenged the application of Exemption 6 to the withheld information. She contended that the ``type of leave one takes is not personal in the same sense as one's date of birth, employment history, etc., as AO claims * * *.'' Flor further contended that release of the requested information would further the public interest because it would reveal how AO treats its whistleblowers. In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that although the requested information is not as significantly private as other personal information such as home addresses and social security numbers, the public release of this information will nevertheless result in, at the least, a minimal invasion of privacy. DOE further found that there was no apparent public interest to balance against the minimal invasion of personal privacy and therefore AO properly withheld the requested information. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied. Stand of Amarillo, Inc., 8/9/96, VFA-0157 Stand of Amarillo, Inc. (STAND) filed an Appeal of a determination issued to it by the Albuquerque Operations Office of the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to a Request for Information submitted under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). STAND had requested documents it saw as a protestant before the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission concerning two environmental permits for the Pantex Plant which the DOE and Mason & Hanger-Silas Mason Co. (Mason & Hanger), the prime contractor for the Pantex Plant, had jointly requested. Although a few documents were released to STAND, Mason & Hanger claimed the vast majority are internal legal documents, contractually its property and not subject to the FOIA. In considering the Appeal, the DOE found that after STAND filed its Appeal, both environmental permits were issued. Under these conditions, both the DOE and Mason & Hanger previously had agreed to search and release records to STAND. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied in part, granted in part, and remanded to the Albuquerque Operations Office for a new determination. However, because this is the second Appeal on STAND's request, the DOE believes that a new determination should be issued within ninety days of the Albuquerque Operations Office's receipt of this Decision and Order. Personnel Security Hearing Oakland Operations Office, 8/7/96, VSO-0094 An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an opinion concerning an individual whose access authorization was suspended because he had tested positive for use of amphetamines (speed). Although the individual admitted to using the illegal drug, he attempted to minimize the seriousness of the event by claiming he had only used a very small amount of speed on a one-time only basis with a friend from out of town. The Hearing Officer found that the individual had failed to corroborate his account of the drug use, because he did not produce witnesses to support his version of the events surrounding the use of speed, particularly the out of town friend. She also found that the testimony of the individual's psychologist did not strongly support the individual's claim of rehabilitation from drug use. Accordingly, the Hearing Officer found [[Page 48949]] that the individual's access authorization should not be restored. Request for Exception R.W. Hays Company, 8/8/96, VEE-0026 R.W. Hays Company filed an Application for Exception from the requirement that it file Form EIA-782B, the ``Reseller/Retailer's Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report.'' The DOE found that the firm was not affected by the reporting requirement in a manner significantly different from other similar firms, and consequently was not experiencing a special hardship, inequity, or unfair distribution of burdens. Accordingly, the firm's Application for Exception was denied. Refund Applications Gulf Oil Corp./Walnut Creek Gulf, 8/8/96, RF300-16584, RF300-21751 The DOE issued a Decision and Order, denying two refund applications filed on behalf of Walnut Creek Gulf (Walnut Creek) in the Gulf Oil Corporation refund proceeding. The first applicant claimed the right to any refund owing his deceased son, who was a partner in the operation of the outlet during part of the refund period. The second applicant was the other partner in the outlet. In considering the first application, the DOE determined that the son's will, upon which the father based his claim, had specifically stated that the father was not a beneficiary. Accordingly, the DOE determined that the first applicant had not established his right to a Gulf refund. The DOE did not consider the second application because it was filed after the deadline for Gulf applications. Veterans Administration, 8/7/96, RF272-47498 The DOE issued a Decision and Order granting an Application for Refund filed by the Veterans Administration, a federal agency (now the Department of Veterans Affairs), in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. A group of States and Territories (States) and Philip P. Kalodner, Counsel for Utilities, Transporters, and Manufacturers (Kalodner) objected to the application 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 found that while 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 $27,779. 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. Bair Transport, Inc...................................... RC272-347 08/09/96 Crude Oil Supple Refund Distribution..................... RB272-00079 08/09/96 Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution............... RB272-00083 08/09/96 Gulf Oil Corporation/Haroutioun Jerejian................. RF300-21835 08/06/96 Gulf Oil Corporation/Jordan Oil Company et al............ RF300-18708 08/05/96 Koch Materials Company................................... RG272-307 08/08/96 Kraft General Foods...................................... RF272-90209 08/07/96 Malone Brothers' Construction et al...................... RF272-87022 08/07/96 Master-Jackson Paving Company............................ RK272-931 08/08/96 Patrick Boyle et al...................................... RG272-00806 08/05/96 Total Transport, Inc..................................... RA272-74 08/06/96 Weston Trucking et al.................................... RK272-01144 08/09/96 Dismissals The following submissions were dismissed: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Case No. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Adobe Mining Co.............................. RG272-878 Albuquerque Operations Office................ VSO-0095 Arcadian Fertilizer Inc. L.P................. RF272-92584 Ashland Exploration, Inc..................... RF272-98196 Atlanta Gas Light Co......................... RF272-98203 B.P. Short & Son Paving Co., Inc............. RG272-910 Betty B. Plank............................... VFA-0187 Borg-Warner Security, Inc.................... RF272-98182 Burlington Basket Co......................... RF272-98201 City of Newark............................... RF272-98131 Comfort Winders.............................. RF272-99052 Cummings-Moore Graphite Co................... RF272-98197 Edisto Resources Corp........................ RF272-98204 Energy West.................................. RF272-98167 Farmers Cooperative Company.................. RG272-968 Farmers Cooperative Exchange................. RG272-897 Farmers Elevator Co.......................... RG272-807 Farmers Elevator Cooperative................. RG272-900 Farmers Elevator Cooperative................. RG272-903 Grand Canyon Helicopters..................... RF272-97959 Gulf States Manufactuters, Inc............... RF272-89336 Hess Brothers, Inc........................... RG272-852 Magee Co..................................... RF272-98195 Medical Center of Central Massachsetts....... RG272-977 Millcraft Industries, Inc.................... RF272-98171 Motor Transport Company...................... RR272-241 Omy Aviation, Inc............................ RF272-98188 [[Page 48950]] Omya, Inc.................................... RF272-98191 Peabody Coal Company......................... RG272-885 Penn Fuel Gas, Inc. and Subsidiaries......... RF272-98245 Pluess-Staufer Inc........................... RF272-98186 Raffi and Swanson, Inc....................... RG272-815 Rockbridge Farmers Co-op, Inc................ RG272-805 Sanborn Farmers Union Oil Cooperative........ RF272-97806 Town of Clarkstown........................... RG272-888 Truman Farmers Elevator Co................... RG272-889 Valley Gas Co................................ RF272-98168 Vermont Talc, Inc............................ RF272-98187 Vulcan Forge and Machine Co.................. RF272-98249 White Pigment Corp........................... RF272-98190 William Refrigerated Express................. RF272-97873 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [FR Doc. 96-23737 Filed 9-16-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P