HomeMy WebLinkAbout79-508 BeardVernon Miller Beard
101 Harrison Drive
flew Cumberland, PA 17070
Dear Mr. Beard:
August 6, 1979
Advice Number 79 -508
In your letter of July 23 you asked what requirements
Act 170 would place upon you if you accepted a job as the
executive director to the Ohio River Basin Commission.
You state that the Ohio Fiver Basin Commission is one
of similar River Basin Commissions authorized by F.L. 89 -00, as
amended. This Commission includes State Commissioners fro-a 11
states, Federal Commissioners from nine Federal agencies and one
from the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission. The Commission
is funded by the 11 member states and the Federal Government. The
executive director is an employee of the Commission.
As executive director you would be responsible for
directing the Commission staff, assisting the Commissioners in
coordination of federal, state and local water resources
planning and in the development of a comprehensive coordinated
joint plan for the basin.
You are presently the director of the Bureau of
Resources Programming, Office of Resources Management, Department
of Environmental Resources, and are responsible for supervising; a
staff engaged in the planning of flood control, general water
resources, and abandonded mine area restoration projects. In addi-
tion you are Pennsylvania's Commissioner to the Great Lakes Basin
Commission and alternate Commissionerto the Ohio River Basin
Commission..
In your present position you are a "public employee" as
that term is used in Act 170.
Section 3(e) prohibits former officials or employees
from representing "... a person with or without compensation, on
any matter before the governmental body with which he has been
associated for one (1) year after he leaves that body." The
governmental body with which you are associated is the Department
of Environmental Resources.
- Vernon Miller Beard
,August 6, 1979
'Page 2
•
It is my opinion that you could accept employment as
executive director of the Ohio River Basin Commission without
violating Act 170 as long as you would not "represent" the
Commission before the Department of Environmental Resources.
for a period of one (1) year after you leave that department.
This would not restrict you from working with the Environiental
Resources Commissioner, alternate Commissioner or any acting
delegate designated by the Department to meet its responsibilities
as a member of the Ohio River Basin Commission. It would also
not restrict you from gathering information or responding to
information requests of the Department of Environmental Resources.
If you wish to have a formal opinion of the Commission
issued in a public meeting place notify me.
State Ethics Commission
303 Finance Luilding
riarrisburg, PA 17120
(717)783 -1610
Sincerely yours,
Paul J. Smith
Chairman