[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65207-65208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31420]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders by the Office of 
Hearings and Appeals; Week of November 11 Through November 15, 1996

    During the week of November 11 through November 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, 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: December 4, 1996.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Decision List No. 7

    Week of November 11 through November 15, 1996.

Appeals

Nathaniel Hendricks, 11/13/96, VFA-0229

    The OHA denied an appeal of a Freedom of Information determination 
issued by the Chicago Operations Office (COO). Previously, the OHA had 
remanded to COO a request by the appellant so that COO could search for 
responsive documents concerning five specific events that occurred in 
Chicago in the 1940's. The appellant conjectured that the events were 
connected with Manhattan Project. When COO responded that it could find 
no responsive documents, the appellant claimed that COO had not 
conducted an adequate search. The OHA questioned personnel at COO about 
the search, and determined that there had been a search reasonably 
calculated to uncover requested documents. Consequently, the OHA denied 
the appeal.

Personnel Security Hearings

Albuquerque Operations Office, 11/14/96, VSO-0102

    A Hearing Officer of the Office of Hearings and Appeals issued an 
opinion concerning the continued eligibility of an individual for 
access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710, ``Criteria and 
Procedures for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Matter 
or Special Nuclear Material.'' After considering the record in view of 
the standards set forth in Part 710, the Hearing Officer found that the 
information presented by the DOE with respect to the individual's 
positive drug test for marijuana use was sufficient to raise a 
substantial concern that the individual may be a frequent recreational 
user of that drug and to support a denial of access authorization 
pursuant to 10 C.F.R. 710.8(k). The Hearing Officer also found that the 
individual had failed to present sufficient evidence to support his 
assertion that his marijuana use was

[[Page 65208]]

limited to one occasion in recent years. As a result, the Hearing 
Officer found that the evidence of rehabilitation and reformation was 
insufficient to mitigate the concerns raised by the positive drug test. 
Finally, the Hearing Officer found that conflicting statements 
concerning drug use made by the individual to his drug counselor and to 
DOE security personnel were sufficient to support a denial of access 
authorization pursuant to 10 C.F.R. 710.8(l). Accordingly, the Hearing 
Officer concluded that, in his opinion, the individual's access 
authorization should not be restored.

Oak Ridge Operations Office, 11/13/96, VSO-0100

    A Hearing Officer 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 DOE Personnel Security Division alleged that 
the individual: (1) deliberately falsified significant information 
provided to the DOE; (2) ``[t]rafficked in, sold, transferred, 
possessed, used, or experimented with a drug or other substance listed 
in the Schedule of Controlled Substances established pursuant to 
Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970''; and (3) 
``[e]ngaged in * * * unusual conduct or is subject to circumstances 
which tend to show that the individual is not honest, reliable, or 
trustworthy * * * ''. See 10 C.F.R. 710.8 (f), (k), and (l). On 
September 24, 1996, an evidentiary hearing was convened in which one 
witness testified. After carefully examining the record of the 
proceeding, the Hearing Officer determined that the individual 
deliberately falsified information on a Questionnaire for Sensitive 
Positions, used an illegal drug, and engaged in conduct demonstrating 
that he is not honest, reliable or trustworthy within the meaning of 10 
C.F.R. 710.8(l). Accordingly, the Hearing Officer recommended that DOE 
Security not restore the individual's access authorization.

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.

Columbia Township Schools, et al.........................  RF272-87150                                  11/15/96
Cochise Airlines, Inc., et al............................  RG272-84                                     11/15/96
S.W. Foley...............................................  RJ272-25                                     11/13/96
SIGMA-4 Express, Inc., et al.............................  RF272-97335                                  11/12/96
Summit City Enterprises..................................  RF272-97829                                  11/12/96
Ben-Lee Motor Service....................................  RF272-97858                                          
Town Center Management Corp..............................  RR272-248                                    11/12/96
                                                                                                                

Dismissals

    The following submissions were dismissed.

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                     Name                               Case No.        
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Air Florida Airlines.........................  RG272-996                
Allegheny Development Corp...................  RG272-765                
Crooker & Sons, Inc..........................  RG272-918                
Diocese of Monterey..........................  RG272-785                
Franklin Co. Grain Growers, Inc..............  RG272-942                
Graves Construction Co, Inc..................  RG272-757                
Great Bay Distributors Inc...................  RG272-756                
National Linen Service.......................  RG272-995                
Ray Bell.....................................  RG272-755                
Roman Catholic Bishop of Monterey............  RG272-786                
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento.........  RG272-787                
Tri-City Electrical Contractors, Inc.........  RG272-799                
Wayne Densch, Inc............................  RG272-791                
West Bldg Materials/ Associated Dist.........  RG272-790                
Unisource....................................  RG272-797                
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[FR Doc. 96-31420 Filed 12-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P