Case No. VFA-0298, 26 DOE ¶ 80,196

June 19, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Appeal

Name of Petitioner: Los Alamos Study Group

Date of Filing: June 2, 1997

Case Number: VFA-0298

On June 2, 1997, the Los Alamos Study Group (the Appellant) filed an Appeal from a determination issued to it on May 19, 1997, by the Department of Energy's Albuquerque Operations Office (AOO). That determination denied in part a request for information which the Appellant filed on August 15, 1996, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, implemented by the DOE in 10 C.F.R. Part 1004.

In its August 15, 1996 FOIA Request, the Appellant sought Conceptual Design Plans (CDPs) for twelve different projects, one of which was the Los Alamos Neuron Science Center (LANSC) upgrades. In the May 19, 1997 determination, AOO found that no CDP had ever been executed for the LANSC upgrades. Accordingly, it indicated that there were no responsive records to that item of the Appellant's request.

In its Appeal, the Appellant accepts the statement that no CDP exists for the LANSC upgrades. However, it requests as alternative relief, "all equivalent documentation, including, but not limited to, conceptual plans, designs, reports, and descriptions of Department of Defense-funded activities, either current or planned at LANSC." Such documents, if they exist, are clearly outside the scope of the Appellant's intial FOIA request and the OHA will not consider this request in the context of the present Appeal. Cox Newspapers, 22 DOE ¶ 80,106 at 80,512 (1992) ("The OHA does not permit FOIA appellants to broaden their requests for information in an appeal.") Therefore, the Appellant should file a new request for this information. The present Appeal should be denied.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Appeal filed by Los Alamos Study Group on June 2, 1997, Case Number VFA-0298, is hereby denied.

(2) This is a final order of the Department of Energy of which any aggrieved party may seek judicial review pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). Judicial review may be sought in the

district in which the requester resides or has a principal place of business, or in which the agency records are situated, or in the District of Columbia.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: June 19, 1997