Summary of Decisions - MM DD, YYYY – MM DD, YYYY

FOIA Appeal 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal; Appeal Denied; Adequacy of Search

On June 10, 2021, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal filed by Gary Galat (Appellant) from a final determination issued by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Public Information (OPI). Appellant's FOIA request sought records regarding his deceased mother. OPI   referred   Appellant's request to the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) to perform a search. LM conducted searches of archived onsite records using search string combinations of the Appellant's mother's first, middle, and last name, and LM also conducted a search using her social security number, but found no responsive records. In support of his appeal, Appellant provided documents indicating that his mother was a former employee for a contractor at the DOE Atomic Facility in Fernald, Ohio during the 1950s. According to LM, it maintains records for former employees from the Fernald site, including records for some contractors, however, not all contractors were required to turn over records regarding employees. Moreover, if former employees leave a site under LM's jurisdiction and go to a site that is under a different department's jurisdiction, sometimes their records are transferred to those sites or custodians. Upon review, OHA determined that the search   was   reasonably calculated to uncover responsive documents.   Therefore, OHA denied Appellant's appeal. OHA Case No. FIA-21-0010.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal; Appeal Granted In Part and Denied In Part; Exemption 5

On June 11, 2021, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal filed by Lorenzo Venneri (Appellant) from a final determination issued by the Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office (ID). On Appeal, the Appellant alleged that OPI had not properly applied Exemption 3 of the FOIA and had not released segregable information. After review, OHA determined that DOE had properly justified its use of Exemption 3 for document types specifically enumerated in the Procurement Integrity Act, but had not justified its use of Exemption 3 for the remaining relevant records. Accordingly, the Appeal was granted in part and denied in all other aspects. OHA Case No. FIA-21-0008.