[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 1997)] [Notices] [Pages 6243-6244] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-3310] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Notice of Issuance of Decisions and Orders; Week of December 23 Through December 27, 1996 During the week of December 23 through December 27, 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: February 3, 1997. George B. Breznay, Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals. Decision List No. 13 Appeals Michael A. Grosche, 12/23/96, VFA-0193 Michael A. Grosche filed an Appeal from a determination issued by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to a Request for Information submitted under the Freedom of Information Act. OIG had withheld names and other information from memoranda on the outcome of a closed investigation into alleged misbilling by sub-contractor employees which revealed no pecuniary loss to the [[Page 6244]] government. In considering the Appeal, the DOE determined that all of the documents were generated for a law enforcement purpose and that under those conditions, review would be under Exemption 7(C). In applying Exemption 7(C), the DOE found that OIG properly withheld the names of persons interviewed and investigated. However, the DOE remanded to the OIG for further consideration the withholding of names of federal employees who did not appear to be persons OIG either investigated or interviewed, but who only seemed to be performing their official functions. The DOE also remanded for further consideration all other withheld material such as subcontract numbers and billing accounts because none of the material appeared on its face to involve any privacy interest, but did appear to address a public interest in whether certain governmental-funded activities were well or poorly managed and how the Federal Acquisition Regulation may have been violated. Accordingly, the Appeal was denied in part, granted in part and remanded to OIG for further consideration. Glen Milner, 12/23/96, VFA-0238 Glen Milner (Appellant) filed an Appeal of two Determinations issued to him by the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act. In the request, the Appellant asked for all documents, generated from 1985 to the present, concerning the ``White Train'', which carried nuclear weapons until the 1980's. He also requested a fee waiver for costs associated with processing the FOIA request. On appeal, the OHA found that there is no provision in the DOE FOIA regulations permitting a conditional fee waiver, such as that requested by the Appellant. However, the OHA also found that disclosure of some of the information requested by the Appellant would be in the public interest, because it was likely to contribute significantly to government operations and activities. Under these circumstances the OHA determined that a fee waiver was appropriate with respect to the limited number of documents meeting those conditions. Accordingly, the DOE granted the Appeal in part. Dismissals The following submissions were dismissed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Case name Case No. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ James H. Stebbings........................... VFA-0242 James R. Hutton.............................. VFA-0256 L.N. Asphalt Co., Inc........................ RG272-981 Marlene Flor................................. VFA-0253 Merlon Management Corp....................... RG272-997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [FR Doc. 97-3310 Filed 2-10-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P