30926 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 18, 1996 / Notices

during his testimony at a DOL hearing

(ERA Case No. 92–ERA–030) and that,

in the interim, the NRC require that Mr.

Conway be relieved of any authority

over operations at Palo Verde; (4)

investigate the Licensee’s statements

regarding Petitioner Saporito in an

August 10, 1993 letter from Mr. Conway

to NRC Administrator, Mr. Bobby H.

Faulkenberry, in which the Licensee

said that Mr. Saporito gave materially

false, inaccurate, and incomplete

information on his application for

unescorted access to Palo Verde so that,

as a result of that event, Petitioner

Saporito lacks trustworthiness and

reliability for access to Palo Verde; (5)

investigate the circumstances

surrounding the February 1994

termination of Licensee employee

Joseph Straub, a former radiation

protection technician at Palo Verde, to

determine if his employment was

illegally terminated by the Licensee for

having engaged in ‘‘protected activity’’

during the course of his employment;

(6) require that the Licensee respond to

a ‘‘chilling effect’’ letter regarding the

circumstances surrounding Mr. Straub’s

termination from Palo Verde and

whether any measures were taken to

ensure that his termination did not

cause a chilling effect at Palo Verde; (7)

initiate appropriate actions to require

the Licensee to immediately conduct

eddy current testing on all steam

generators at Palo Verde, because the

steam generator tubes were recently

subjected to cracking.

As the bases for these requests,

Petitioners asserted that: (1) A show

cause proceeding is necessary because

the public health and safety concerns

alleged are significant and to permit

public participation to provide NRC

with new and relevant information; (2)

past practices of TAG demonstrate that

employees of TAG were retaliated

against for having raised safety concerns

while employed at Palo Verde; (3)

citations to testimony from transcripts

and numerous newspaper articles

(appended as exhibits to the Petition),

demonstrate that Mr. Conway’s

testimony is not credible; (4) statements

in the August 10, 1993 letter are

inaccurate and materially false and

characterize Mr. Saporito as an

individual lacking trustworthiness and

reliability for access to Palo Verde, so

that such negative characterizations

have blacklisted him from continued

employment in the nuclear industry,

which is all in retaliation for him raising

safety concerns about operations at Palo

Verde; thus, Petitioners ask that these

statements be rescinded; (5) an

investigation into the termination of Mr.

Straub is warranted in view of the fact

that the Licensee has engaged in similar

illegal conduct in the past where the

NRC has required the Licensee to pay

fines; (6) Mr. Straub is entitled to

reinstatement with pay and benefits

pending the NRC’s investigation into his

termination to offset any chilling effect

his termination had on the Palo Verde

workforce; and (7) the stress corrosion

and cracking in the steam generators is

a recurring problem of which the

Licensee is aware and which the

Licensee has failed to properly correct,

in addition to cooling tower problems,

so that the NRC should be concerned

about proper maintenance of safety

systems and equipment there.

Immediate action with respect to item

7 of the May 27, 1994 Petition, regarding

eddy current testing of the steam

generators, was denied by William T.

Russell, Director, Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation in a letter to the

Petitioners dated July 26, 1994. The

non-immediate portion of the request is

being addressed in a separate Director’s

Decision by Mr. Russell and the issue

will not be discussed further here.

On July 8, 1994, Petitioners filed a

supplement to the May 27, 1994 Petition

raising additional issues concerning

technical matters unrelated to the issues

addressed in this Decision. The requests

filed in this July 8, 1994 supplement

will be addressed in the above-noted

Director’s Decision by Mr. Russell and

will not be addressed here.

Another Petition was filed by Thomas

J. Saporito, Jr., Florida Energy

Consultants, and Linda Mitchell

(Petitioners) on November 14, 1994. The

Petition requested that NRC: (1) Issue a

confirmatory order requiring APS to

reduce power at all Palo Verde units to

0% until APS can demonstrate

corrective actions for the hostile work

environment at Palo Verde; (2) issue a

demand for information to APS asking

(a) why NRC should have confidence

that APS can operate Palo Verde

without a hostile work environment; (b)

about the current duties and

responsibilities of certain listed

employees, including whether any of

those employees is currently involved

in NRC-licensed activities; (c) why the

Commission should have confidence

that these employees will comply with

NRC requirements; and (d) why the NRC

should not take action to prohibit the

involvement of these employees in NRC

licensed activities.

As the bases for these requests,

Petitioners assert that: (1) DOL found

that Sarah Thomas was discriminated

against by APS; (2) DOL found that

Linda Mitchell was discriminated

against by APS; (3) DOL found that

Thomas J. Saporito, Jr., was

discriminated against by APS; (4) these

matters could have been settled before

adjudication by DOL; (5) recent other

DOL complaints by Straub and Irick are

indicators that discrimination is the

normal course of business at Palo Verde;

(6) Petitioner Linda Mitchell lives

within 2 air miles of Palo Verde and,

therefore, has standing to intervene in a

hearing before the NRC Atomic Safety

and Licensing Board (Board); (7)

Petitioners Saporito and Florida Energy

Consultants have requisite standing to

intervene in a hearing before a Licensing

Board through Ms. Mitchell; Petitioner

Saporito has requisite standing to

intervene in a hearing before the Board

through Ms. Mitchell; (8) Petitioners are

subject to physical harm and loss of

personal property in the event of a

nuclear accident at Palo Verde as a

direct or indirect result of the hostile

work environment fostered at Palo

Verde; and (9) a hostile work

environment exists and is pervasive at

Palo Verde and is condoned and

fostered by licensee management.

The request for enforcement action

against APS has been granted. For the

reasons discussed in the Director’s

Decision, the remaining requests, other

than those being addressed by Mr.

Russell in his separate Director’s

Decision, have been denied.

A copy of this Decision will be filed

with the Secretary for the Commission’s

review in accordance with 10 CFR

2.206. As provided by this regulation,

the Decision will constitute the final

action of the Commission on the issues

discussed herein 25 days after the date

of issuance of the Decision unless the

Commission on its own motion

institutes a review of the Decision

within that time.

Dated: at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day

of June 1996.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

James Lieberman,

Director, Office of Enforcement.

[FR Doc. 96–15400 Filed 6–17–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

Sunshine Act Meeting

DATES: Weeks of June 17, 24, July 1, and

8, 1996.

PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

Maryland.

STATUS: Public and Closed.

MATTERS OF BE CONSIDERED:

Week of June 17

Tuesday, June 18

10:00 a.m.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 18, 1996 / Notices 30927

Briefing on Status of NRC Operator

Licensing Initial Examination Pilot

Process (Public Meeting)

(Contact: Stuart Richards, 301–415–1031)

11:30 a.m.

Affirmation Session (Public Meeting)

*(Please Note: These items will be affirmed

immediately following the conclusion of

the preceding meeting.)

a. Final Rulemaking—Revision to 10 CFR

Parts 2, 50, and 51, Related to

Decommissioning of Nuclear Power

Reactors.

b. Yankee Atomic Electric Company

(Yankee Nuclear Power Station) Docket

No. 50–029–DCOM (Tentative)

(Contact: Andrew Bates, 301–415–1963)

Week of June 24—Tentative

Tuesday, June 25

10:00 a.m.

Briefing on Operating Reactors and Fuel

Facilities (Public Meeting)

(Contact: Victor McCree, 301–415–1711)

Wednesday, June 26

11:30 a.m.

Affirmation Session (Public Meeting) (if

needed)

2:30 p.m.

Meeting with Advisory Committee on

Nuclear Waste (ACNW) (Public Meeting)

(Contact: John Larkins, 301–415–7360)

Week of July 1—Tentative

Monday, July 1

2:00 p.m.

Briefing by Executive Branch (Closed—Ex.

1)

Tuesday, July 2

10:00 a.m.

Briefing on Alternatives for Regulating

Fuel Cycle Facilities (Public Meeting)

(Contact: Ted Sherr, 301–415–7218)

Wednesday, July 3

10:00 a.m.

Briefing on BPR Project on Redesigned

Material Licensing Process (Public

Meeting)

(Contact: Pat Rathbun, 301–415–7178)

11:30 a.m.

Affirmation Session (Public Meeting) (if

needed)

Week of July 8—Tentative

There are no meeting scheduled for the

Week of July 8.

The schedule for Commission

meetings is subject to change on short

notice. To verify the status of meetings

call (recording)—(301) 415–1292.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bill Hill (301) 415–1661.

* * * * *

This notice is distributed by mail to

several hundred subscribers: if you no

longer wish to receive it, or would like

to be added to it, please contact the

Office of the Secretary, Attn: Operations

Branch, Washington, D.C. 20555 (301–

415–1963)

In addition, distribution of this

meeting notice over the internet system

is available. If you are interested in

receiving this Commission meeting

schedule electronically, please send an

electronic message to alb@nrc.gov or

dkw@nrc.gov

* * * * *

William M. Hill, Jr.,

Secy Tracking Officer, Office of the Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–15609 Filed 6–14–96; 3:27 pm]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS

Senior Executive Service (SES)

Performance Review Board: Updating

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics

(OGE).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

appointment of members of the updated

OGE SES Performance Review Board.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 18, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert E. Lammon, Associate Director

for Administration, Office of

Government Ethics, 1201 New York

Avenue, NW., Suite 500, Washington,

DC 20005–3917; telephone: 202–208–

8000; FAX: 202–208–8037; Internet Email address: relammon@attmail.com

(for E-mail messages, the subject line

should include the following

reference—OGE SES Performance

Review Board).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 5 U.S.C.

4314(c) requires each agency to

establish, in accordance with

regulations prescribed by the Office of

Personnel Management at 5 CFR part

430, subpart C and § 430.307 thereof in

particular, one or more Senior Executive

Service performance review boards. As

a small executive branch agency, OGE

has just one board. In order to ensure an

adequate level of staffing and to avoid

a constant series of recusals, these

newly designated members of OGE’s

SES Performance Review Board are

being drawn, as in the past, primarily

from the SES ranks of other agencies

because OGE itself currently has only

three SES members. The board shall

review and evaluate the initial appraisal

of each OGE senior executive’s

performance by his or her supervisor,

along 1with any recommendations in

each instance to the appointing

authority relative to the performance of

the senior executive. This notice

updates the membership of OGE’s SES

Performance Review Board as it was last

published at 58 FR 14225–14226 (March

16, 1993).

Approved: June 12, 1996.

Stephen D. Potts,

Director, Office of Government Ethics.

The following have been selected as

regular members of the SES

Performance Review Board of the Office

of Government Ethics:

F. Gary Davis [Chair], Deputy Director,

Office of Government Ethics

Joseph E. Gangloff, Principal Deputy,

Public Integrity Section, Department

of Justice

Gabriele J. Paone, Deputy Agency Ethics

Staff Officer, Department of the

Interior

James H. Thessin, Deputy Legal Adviser,

Department of State

Steven Y. Winnick, Deputy General

Counsel for Program Service,

Department of Education

[FR Doc. 96–15392 Filed 6–17–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6345–01–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Trade Policy Staff Committee; Public

Comments on the Caribbean Basin

Economic Recovery Act: Report to

Congress

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: Section 212(f) of the

Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery

Expansion Act of 1990 (19 U.S.C.

2702(f)) (‘‘the Act’’) requires the

Administration to submit a report to the

Congress on or before October 1, 1996

regarding the operation of the program.

All interested parties are invited to

submit comments relevant to the issues

to be examined in preparing such a

report, including the considerations

included in subsections 212 (b) and (c)

of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2702 (b) and (c)).

DATES: Public comments are due by

noon on Monday, July 15, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

N.W., Room 523, Washington, DC

20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dale Eppler, Director for Central

American and Caribbean Affairs, (202–

395–5190).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

212(f) (19 U.S.C. 2702(f)) of the

Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act

states: ‘‘On or before October 1, 1993,

and the close of each 3-year period

thereafter, the President shall submit to

the Congress a complete report