Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeals

On April 6, 2015, OHA denied a FOIA Appeal filed by Don C. Pyle on behalf of Rubin J. Pyles (deceased) from a determination issued to him by the Oak Ridge Office.  In the Appeal, the Appellant challenged the adequacy of Oak Ridge’s search for responsive documents.  OHA found, however, that Oak Ridge had conducted an adequate search that was reasonably calculated to uncover responsive documents.  OHA Case No. FIA-15-0013

On April 9, 2015, OHA denied a FOIA Appeal filed by Sabine Lauer (Appellant) of a determination issued by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). In the Appeal, the Appellant challenged the NNSA’s search for responsive records. The OHA found that the NNSA conducted a search reasonably calculated to uncover responsive material and therefore denied the Appeal. OHA Case No. FIA-15-0011

Application for Exception

On April 9, 2015, OHA issued a decision denying an Application for Exception filed by Vaughn Thermal Corporation (Vaughn), in which the firm seeks relief from DOE’s revised water heater energy efficiency standards, effective April 16, 2015.  Vaughn, headquartered in Salisbury, Massachusetts, is a manufacturer of residential heaters and electronic water heater controls devices used by utilities in electric thermal storage (ETS) programs, also referred to as Demand Response (DR) programs.  At present time, these programs utilize conventional electric resistance water heaters.  However, under the new standards, large capacity water heaters will effectively be required to utilize heat pump technology (rather than internal electric resistance coils) to achieve the established energy efficiency level.  In its Application, Vaughn seeks an exception allowing the firm to continue to manufacturer large capacity (80 gallons or greater) electric resistance water heaters specifically for use in ETS/DR programs, claiming that heat pump water heaters are incompatible for use these systems.  OHA determined, however, that Vaughn’s Application should be denied since recent studies conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have confirmed that heat pump water heaters are in fact compatible for use in ETS/DR systems.  OHA Case No. EXC-14-0003