[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 231 (Friday, November 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60697-60698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30448]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders During the Week of
October 7 Through October 11, 1996
During the week of October 7 through October 11, 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, 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: November 20, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
Decision List No. 2
Week of October 7 Through October 11, 1996
Personnel Security Hearing
ALBUQUERQUE OPERATIONS OFFICE, 10/9/96, VSO-0099
An Office of Hearings and Appeals Hearing Officer issued an opinion
addressing the continued eligibility of an individual for access
authorization under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Hearing
Officer found that the Albuquerque Operations Office had presented
sufficient evidence to show that the individual (i) deliberately
omitted significant information from a security questionnaire, (ii) is
a user of alcohol habitually to excess and suffers from alcohol abuse,
and (iii) has engaged in conduct which tends to show that he is not
reliable. The Hearing Officer also found that the individual had not
shown he was rehabilitated or presented evidence which mitigated the
security concerns of the DOE. Accordingly, the Hearing Officer
recommended that the individual's access authorization not be restored.
Whistleblower Proceeding
META, INC., LOGISTICS APPLICATIONS, INC., 10/08/96, VWA-0006, VWA-0012
Eugene Greer filed a complaint under the Department of Energy's
Contractor
[[Page 60698]]
Employee Protection Program. Greer alleged that he lost his employment
with META, Inc., as a result of his cooperation with an investigation
conducted by the Office of Inspector General into misuse of government
property by two DOE employees responsible for supervising the META
contract. The investigation resulted in a reprimand for one of the DOE
employees. There was no allegation that META intentionally did anything
improper, but that the two DOE officials who were the subjects of the
IG investigation orchestrated Greer's dismissal by making negative
comments about his work to META officials. META claimed that Greer's
dismissal was the result of a corporate reorganization and that the DOE
officials had no input into the decision.
The Hearing Officer found that Greer had not sustained his burden
of demonstrating that DOE officials contributed in any way to his
dismissal. The Hearing Officer noted that it is often impossible for
the complainant to find a ``smoking gun'' that proves an employer's
retaliatory intent and that the testimony of contractor officials who
have been accused of retaliating must be viewed with some skepticism.
However, since there was no allegation of intentional wrongdoing and
the testimony presented by META officials was consistent and
reasonable, the Hearing Officer found their testimony to be credible.
Consequently, he found that Greer's role in the IG investigation had no
bearing upon the loss of his employment. Consequently, the relief Greer
requested was denied.
Refund Applications
STATE ESCROW DISTRIBUTION, 10/11/96, RF302-19
The Office of Hearings and Appeals ordered the DOE's Office of the
Controller to distribute $15,400,000 to the State Governments. The use
of the funds by the States is governed by the Stripper Well Settlement
Agreement.
THE 341 TRACT UNIT OF THE CITRONELLE FIELD/NATIONAL COOPERATIVE
REFINERY, ET AL., 10/10/96, RF345-69, ET AL.
The Department of Energy granted Applications for Refund filed by
five refiner cooperatives in the 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field
refund proceeding. The DOE rejected arguments by a group of Utilities,
Transporters and Manufacturers and a group of States to the effect that
these refiner cooperatives had previously waived their rights to
receive more than the 5.4 percent share allocated to other refiners.
The DOE also determined that the refunds should not be disbursed until
it was clear that no appeal of the determination had been filed. The
funds will be placed in a separate interest bearing account earmarked
for these refiner cooperatives, who will be entitled to their refunds
as well as accrued interest, should the outcome of any litigation be
favorable to them. The total refund granted was $1,746,845.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name of firm Case No. Received
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CITY OF KERNERSVILLE..................................... RC272-354 10/10/96
TOWNSHIP OF PRINCETON.................................... RC272-355
CRUDE OIL SUPPLE REF DIST................................ RB272-00088 10/8/96
EAST POINT TRAWLERS, INC................................. RJ272-23 10/7/96
GRAY TRUCK CO., ET AL.................................... RF272-97946 10/11/96
KEIGHTLY BROS. INC....................................... RC272-333 10/8/96
POLK CNTY FARMERS COOP., ET AL........................... RF272-97804 10/8/96
REDWING CARRIERS, INC., ET AL............................ RG272-00096 10/7/96
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dismissals
The following submissions were dismissed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Case No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMERICAN FALCON CORP......................... RF272-90314
COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO. CONSOLIDATED.......... RF272-92518
COLUMBUS CONSOLIDATED GOVT................... RF272-95156
EQUITY COOPERATIVE........................... RG272-706
GREAT WESTERN AIRLINES, INC.................. RG272-1004
ITALIANO & PLACHE, L.L.P..................... VFA-0219
MONTGOMERY TANK LINES........................ RG272-465
OAK RIDGE OPERATIONS OFFICE.................. VSO-0107
SCHENECTADY NAVAL REACTORS OFF............... VSO-0112
SQUAW LAKE COOPERATIVE CO.................... RG272-707
SUTHERLAND FARMERS COOP...................... RG272-491
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 96-30448 Filed 11-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P