Summary of Decisions - November 23, 2015 – November 27, 2015

Personnel Security (10 CFR Part 710)

On November 25, 2015, an Administrative Judge issued a decision in which he determined that an individual's request for access authorization should not be granted. In the Notification Letter, the DOE alleged that the individual suffered from alcohol abuse and consumed alcohol habitually to excess. In support of these allegations, the DOE cited the individual’s five alcohol-related arrests, the diagnosis of Alcohol Abuse by a DOE psychiatrist, and the individual’s current pattern of alcohol consumption, which included drinking to intoxication one to two times per month. At the hearing, the individual and others testified that he has significantly reduced, but not stopped, his drinking. The Administrative Judge found that the individual had not resolved the security concerns raised by his alcohol use. Specifically, he found that the individual’s pattern of responsible drinking was not of sufficient length to convince him that a return to his previous pattern of abuse was unlikely. The Administrative Judge also cited the individual’s failure to seek treatment and his failure to demonstrate an appropriate period of abstinence from drinking.  OHA Case No. PSH-15-0072 (Robert Palmer)

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal

On November 24, 2015, OHA denied a FOIA Appeal filed by Alan Butler of the Electronic Privacy Information Center from a determination issued to him by the DOE Office of Information Resources.  In his Appeal, Mr. Butler challenged the OIR’s finding that the DOE had no documents responsive to its request for records “interpreting or addressing the collection, retention, dissemination, or sharing of electronic communications or metadata” under Executive Order 12333.  Reviewing the scope of the DOE’s search for responsive records, OHA determined that a single responsive document existed:  agency procedures adopted under that Executive Order, which are publicly available.  While it found that OIR should have identified these procedures as responsive to Mr. Butler’s request, OHA found that the DOE’s search for responsive documents was otherwise reasonably calculated to uncover the sought materials.  Therefore, OHA denied the Appeal.  OHA Case No. FIA-15-0056